Jurgen Klopp name-checked Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera while discussing the impact Ole Gunnar S has had at Manchester United.
Pogba and Herrera have been two of United stand-out players since Jose Mourinho was dismissed in December and both men scored in Monday’s FA Cup triumph at Chelsea.
The pair will need to be on top form again when Liverpool visit Old Trafford on Sunday and Klopp is well aware of the challenge that lies in wait for his side.
“You never know in the beginning, that’s how it is when a new manager comes in,” Klopp said of Solskjaer‘s start to life as United’s interim manager.
“There’s a lot of things, maybe relief for players, for a few players of course because always when a manager has to go, a few players didn’t feel as they should maybe.
“But now, after nearly three months or so, it’s outstanding. I think Ander Herrera is in the best period of his life, it’s unbelievable how he’s playing, Pogba is Pogba again. The work-rate of the strikers is unbelievable. They always had the speed but now they’re using it in the right moments.
“There is a lot of quality in the team. The last line (of defence), there was a lot of discussion about that. Now they work together as a team so nobody speaks about the last line anymore.
“Goalkeeper was always good, no doubt about that, so it’s a different side to the beginning of the season for sure. But that’s how it is.
“We never expect an easy game when you go to United, it was always clear that it will be a tough one for Liverpool, but still we thought, ‘Let’s give it a try, and that’s what we will do’.”
When asked if he was surprised by Solskjaer’s impact, Klopp responded: “I’m a manager by myself and I know we are not magicians.
“It’s not like we come in and say ‘you are not good but I can make you really good’, so it’s like we are blessed with really good players around us.
“Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is doing a brilliant job, it’s all about bringing out the potential, improving the quality and that’s what he obviously did and that makes him a manager for a top club and that’s how it is. I’m not surprised by that.”
