José Mourinho: Jürgen Klopp thought I was trying to get Firmino sent off

José Mourinho said his bust-up with Jürgen Klopp during Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool was because the visiting manager believed he tried to have Roberto Firmino sent off.

The incident occurred late on at Old Trafford when Ander Herrera grabbed the Brazil forward whose retaliation ended with United’s midfielder on the floor.

The referee, Michael Oliver, booked each player for the incident. Yet it caused Klopp and Mourinho to have a furious exchange that culminated with the German shaking off the Portuguese’s pat.

The United manager said: “He thought I was asking for his player to be sent off. I wasn’t. There was no problem at all. I think the game was correct. I think the players gave everything but in an emotional and professional way so the referee did very well in that part of the game – emotional and in control of good professionals. There was aggression but it was good so I think it was great publicity for the Premier League all around the world.”

Klopp had a different take, saying: “He [Mourinho] wanted the minimum of a yellow card, I don’t know. I think the ref whistled before anything else happened. Roberto is a footballer from head to toe and he wanted to stay in the game. He could have passed the ball but that was a yellow card for Herrera and nothing else.

“In the end it was a yellow card for the guy who wanted to play football. It could have been even worse if someone wants to see it again and all that stuff. We [him and Mourinho] could not have the same opinion in this moment.”

The points were shared after James Milner’s 27th-minute penalty was cancelled out by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s 84th‑minute header. By then Mourinho had introduced Marouane Fellaini to offer his side a greater aerial threat. This prompted Klopp to describe United’s approach as more direct. “In the end period of the game when United started playing long balls – Marouane Fellaini and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – after 80 minutes’ high-intensity football it is really hard. I hoped we would have a bit of luck, unfortunately not, but all good. Monday I can enjoy the result, but tonight only the performance.”

Mourinho, in turn, believed his side took all of the initiative. “We were the team that attacked and Liverpool were the team that defended. Let’s see if the critics are fair. I enjoyed it but I will obviously be disappointed we didn’t get the three points. It is so intense. They play long balls, it was a wild game. There was a lot of action in the last few minutes. We were here to win the game, which is why we are not 100% satisfied.

“They were clever. They took their time, they know how to play football and control the emotions of the game. They knew they would be in trouble in the final few minutes.”