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‘Martinez went down under an “awful” tackle that was obviously nothing’: Jurgen Klopp reveals his post-match complaint to Bruno Fernandes but insists chat with Man United midfielder was ‘harmless’
- Jurgen Klopp was seen in animated conversation with Bruno Fernandes
- German revealed he was talking to him about Lisandro Martinez feigning injury
- Klopp said: ‘Martinez went down from an ‘awful’ tackle, it was obviously nothing’
- Fernandes then replied: ‘You’d do the same’, to the Liverpool manager
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Jurgen Klopp has revealed the nature of his post-match chat with Bruno Fernandes after Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat by their fierce rivals.
After the final whistle, Klopp and Fernandes were seen in animated discussion and the German was asked about it at his post-match press conference.
He insisted: ‘It was not animated it was the most harmless conversation I ever had with a player, who was obviously as emotional as I was.
Jurgen Klopp was seen in animated conversation with Bruno Fernandes that ended amicably
‘It was the situation with Martinez, who went down under an ‘awful’ tackle that was obviously nothing.’
Klopp went on: ‘He [Fernandes] made a bit of it, he was talking to me and saying, ‘you’d do the same’.
‘But it was fine after, he told me he needs these kind of conversations. Okay, it’s fine, use me!’
Fernandes was a thorn in the side for Liverpool and was perhaps fortunate not to receive a second yellow card after holding onto the ball when Mo Salah scored to cut the deficit.
Klopp’s complaint was that Lisandro Martinez pretended a tackle was much worse than it was
Fernandes would not release the ball for Mo Salah after Liverpool scored
But the Portuguese performed at a level far exceeding his recent displays as United took the three points.
Klopp reflected on Liverpool’s poor start to the season, with the Reds yet to pick up a win.
He said: ‘I’m very disappointed about the result. I am concerned about our situation, but that is how it is.
‘It is a game where everything was clear what United would do. Were they more aggressive than us at the beginning? Probably, yes.
The defender improved on his display against Brentford, where he was hooked at half-time
‘It was exactly the game United wanted to play. That’s our fault, you could say.
‘But until the final pass or final decision we played like we should have played. We had a lot of moments in the box.
‘We scored a goal, which was absolutely deserved, but it was slightly late. We could have won the game tonight if we’d played slightly better.’