Former Liverpool and Netherlands star, Dirk Kuyt, believes that The Reds’ current team is of a higher standard than the squad he was a part of at Anfield in 2008/09.
Kuyt, under Rafa Benitez’s guidance, played alongside talents such as Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano that year. Liverpool lost just two league games all season, finishing with 86 points, but it wasn’t enough to beat Manchester United to the title.
Now, though, Kuyt feels that Jurgen Klopp’s squad is better-placed to go all the way and bring the long-awaited league title back to Merseyside.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, Kuyt said:
“With the likes of Stevie and Carra, Mascherano, Torres and many other very good players, we just missed a little something.
“If you see the build-up of the team of Klopp, you see it progressing every time and it looks like it’s now coming to success also in the Premier League. We were a particular team like that, only we couldn’t go one step further at that time.
“Hopefully this team will do it because, in my opinion, this team now on the pitch is even better than ours.”
When asked about this weekend’s upcoming fixture at Old Trafford, Kuyt was under no illusions regarding just how big a meeting it is between Manchester United and Liverpool.
“You can always feel the rivalry between Liverpool and United.
“We know the derby, Liverpool and Everton, is a massive game for the people in Liverpool. But Liverpool-United or United-Liverpool is one of the biggest games in England and I always loved to play in them, we had many good results back in the day.
“For me, the highs were the hat-trick against United and also a late winner in the FA Cup. I always really enjoyed those kinds of games.
“I always look forward to watching the game because it’s an absolute joy to watch Liverpool at the moment. These are special games and make you just a little bit more excited than the other games.”
Liverpool face Manchester United at 16:30 this Sunday, October 20th, as Klopp’s men look to continue their 100% start to the Premier League season.
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