Premier League legends John Arne Riise and Ronny Johnsen shared their thoughts at the Battle of the Reds press conference…
On the 16th of November, Singapore’s National Stadium will play host to the Battle of the Reds which will see former legends from Manchester United, Liverpool and Singapore take each other on.
The previous edition of the competition, organised by Masters Football Asia, saw Liverpool defeat United to lift the trophy in Singapore in 2015. At a press conference surrounding the event, Liverpool legend John Arne Riise and Manchester United legend Ronny Johnsen shared their thoughts on the tournament and more.
Ronny was part of the United team that lost to Liverpool in Singapore in 2015 and the defender wants to right the wrong this time.
“Yes, that’s the reason we want to play again you know so we can try to win again here in Singapore. Although we did beat them in Bangkok.”
Well, in order for Ronny to have his way, he will first have to come up against fellow Norwegian Riise who believes that the match will competitive and with more high-profile players added, it will be an extra incentive for fans to not miss it.
“We will have a few more good players e.g. (Luis Garcia), (Vladimir Smicer), (Paul Walsh) and it’s all about getting the right result. The competitiveness will be there when the first whistle blows and the only goal in our mind will be to win,” mentioned the former full-back.
When Ronny was asked about the rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool, he said, “I think those games (United v Liverpool), they live their own lives. If people say they have written off United for that game, I will say it’s never going to happen. Because when these two teams are on the pitch, their league position does not matter.
“United currently are not getting the right results and when that doesn’t happen, there is no confidence. But I think Ole (Gunnar Solksjaer), knows the way and I think he will get time to show he is a good manager.”
Conversely, for Riise, besides representing Liverpool he also had a spell with Roma, just like Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah.
“Both of them (Salah and Alisson), did not speak to me before joining Liverpool, coming from Roma.
“But when you are a professional football player, you know what you need to do when you are joining a big club. I am just happy they are both playing together now. I think Alisson is the best keeper in the world and Mo Salah is one of the top five players in the world.”
Finally, both legends were asked for their predictions for the scoreline when Liverpool Masters take on United Masters later in November.
“3-0 for United, no doubt,” said Ronny.
“4-1 to Liverpool and I will score a thunderbolt,” said Riise cheekily.
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