There was no guffaw outside the press conference room at Anfield to signal his arrival and there was none of the effervescence usually associated with the Liverpool manager.
Jurgen Klopp walked in to address the media with his voice soft and his disappointment clear following a defeat that was incredibly hard to stomach.
Manchester United had been completely outplayed in the German’s first taste of English football’s biggest rivalry, but scored with their only shot on target at the death to record a 1-0 victory.
In the aftermath of Wayne Rooney’s winner, Klopp was the most deflated he’s been since he succeeded Brendan Rodgers in October. That loss at the turn of the year has obviously not escaped the 48-year-old’s mind.
After Liverpool were drawn to face United in the Europa League last 16, the Reds boss admitted they were the team he most wanted to tackle in the competition.
“You can ask my staff, they asked me yesterday ‘who do you want?’ I said ‘Man United,’” he revealed at Melwood.
“I think we have to clear some things. We had a good game against them when I was here, it was a defeat which we didn’t deserve, but we got it.
“So now life gives us the chance to make it better so that’s what we have to do and what we will try.
“In this round, there were no easy games so we had no chance for an easy game. So we have Manchester United – cool!”
Liverpool have faced their old foes twice already this season – under two different managers – and are on the wrong end of a 4-1 aggregate.
Klopp is desperate to reverse that trend and the Europa League, a tournament he has continually stressed the importance of, would be the perfect platform for the Reds to extract some revenge on United and amplify the pressure on Louis van Gaal.
It will be the first time the clubs face off in European competition with the opening leg at Anfield on March 10, before the second encounter at Old Trafford a week later.
While both sides would have preferred such a historic tie to come in the Champions League, neither Liverpool nor United will want to exit the tournament at the hands of the other. The defeat on January 17 at Anfield hurt the Reds boss, but it also roused him.
Klopp has already stated he believes his men can win the Europa League. With a quarter-final place at stake, there would be no better opponents for Liverpool to prove their pedigree against than United.
