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The message from Jurgen Klopp to his Liverpool players on Thursday night should be: “Play with no fear.”

We’re in a great position to progress to the quarter-finals of the Europa League but there’s still a lot of work to be done against Manchester United.

Our recent record at Old Trafford is poor. We have lost eight of our last nine matches there. But this Liverpool side should have taken great encouragement from how we outplayed United at Anfield last week.

There is nothing to be scared of. We’ve beaten United once and we can do it again. We have to go there, roll our sleeves up and be strong, both physically and mentally.

A 2-0 lead is very useful but we can’t afford to sit back and try to hold on to what we’ve got. That would be asking for trouble.

We need to be on the front foot and looking to cause them problems. If we score then that kills the tie and United will be aware of that.

The clean sheet we kept at Anfield was really important and our performance in the first leg was excellent.

Defensively, we looked very solid and going forward we created some great chances.

But for the heroics of David de Gea this tie would already be over. On the balance of play, 4-0 wouldn’t have flattered Liverpool at Anfield.

De Gea did what he always seems to do when he comes up against Liverpool. He was their man of the match by a mile. It was another unbelievable performance from him. Imagine where United would be without him?

The atmosphere at Anfield was absolutely tremendous. That’s got to be the best it’s been since that title run-in two years ago.

It certainly didn’t feel like the last 16 of the Europa League. In fact it reminded me of the big Champions League nights against Chelsea.

United simply couldn’t handle it. The noise certainly inspired Liverpool and we were dominant throughout.

United were poor, there’s no getting away from that, but give Liverpool credit because we never allowed them to settle.

They had a little spell in the second half where you thought there might be a way back for them but Klopp made the change with Joe Allen coming on and we were soon back in control.

It makes you wonder how we managed to lose home and away to United in the league this season. We certainly should have beaten them at Anfield back in January. This time we got what we deserved.

I still think we can play better than that but things are slowly starting to come together. We’ve finally got some momentum.

The injury problems have cleared up a fair bit and the squad is looking strong at a vital stage of the season. Now we need to rise to the occasion at Old Trafford.

Fans singing sickening chants should be banned for life

There is no place in football for the sickening chants we had to endure at Anfield last Thursday.

It’s nothing new but I was shocked by how many Manchester United fans sung about the Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies.

It wasn’t just a few idiots, it was a significant section of the away end.

Whenever this happens, the response is always: ‘what about Liverpool fans chanting about Munich?’

Of course, that’s completely unacceptable too.

I’ve seen isolated incidents of that happening over the years but nothing on the kind of scale we witnessed at Anfield last week.

I was glad that United were quick to condemn the chants. I’d also like to see the clubs working together to use the footage available and identity those who took part in that chanting. They should be banned from grounds for life.

I really hope there’s no repeat at Old Trafford this Thursday.

Can's always been the man for me

I’ve always liked Emre Can and now everyone is starting to see what all the fuss is about.

The Germany international is enjoying a really good run of form in the Liverpool midfield.

Can seems to have become more disciplined in that holding role alongside Jordan Henderson.

He’s not running with the ball as much so he’s not getting caught out as much. He’s distribution has really improved.

The team ethic shone through against United with everyone playing for each other but I thought Can was one of our best individuals on the night.

Nathaniel Clyne produced arguably his best display for Liverpool. He was very solid defensively and a threat when he went forward.

Roberto Firmino also did very well and I think there’s a lot more to come from the Brazilian.

Simon Mignolet didn’t have much to do but he was strong when he needed to be with one crucial punch clear.

We're being cornered by set-pieces

Jurgen Klopp has to dedicate some time on the training field to sorting out our corners.

It’s embarrassing how poor our set-plays are. Time after time they fail to beat the first man.

I’ve been waiting months for them to improve but it’s just not happening. If anything they’re getting worse.

Other teams get a significant chunk of their goals from set-plays but our threat is non-existent.

It’s a big part of modern football and we are missing out big time.

When Klopp is looking for players this summer he needs to sign one who is a dead ball specialist.