MANCHESTER UNITED stars arrived at Old Trafford SEVEN HOURS early for their rearranged clash with Liverpool after stadium security was beefed up.
Earlier this month, furious fans broke into inside the Theatre of Dreams during heated protests against the club’s owners.
The violent scenes – which saw a police officer’s face slashed – forced the game to be postponed.
An earlier protest saw around 20 supporters walk into Carrington and speak to boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
And now, to avoid any complications, Man Utd players were seen arriving at Old Trafford shortly after 1pm for the 8.15pm kick-off after a 10ft ring of steel was erected around the stadium.
The stars turned up in their own cars after a decoy bus had arrived to throw potential trouble-makers off the scent.
Bruno Fernandes, Juan Mata, Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood were just some of the stars seen driving through the sea of security and police on Thursday’s afternoon.
United officials took advice from police to bolster their security ahead of their clash Leicester on Tuesday – a 2-1 defeat.
And the reinforcements will remain in place for Thursday’s game with the Reds, with further protests feared.
It’s thought fans managed to break into Old Trafford earlier this month via the Munich Tunnel, where they pushed down barriers and made their way onto the pitch.
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Reinforced structures have now been placed around the ground in a bid to stop future break-ins.
Police are expected to be present in large numbers ahead of the game against Liverpool, as they were for Leicester.
Ahead of the game, players have been sworn to secrecy as to their arrival plan – with some staff even kept out the loop to ensure there were no leaks.
Man Utd go into the game just 48 hours on from their 2-1 defeat to Leicester.
Having played just two days before that game – in a horror run of three matches in five days – Solskjaer fielded a hugely weakened side for the loss at home to Leicester.
Despite criticism, Thursday’s opposition boss Jurgen Klopp refused to pile on.
The outspoken German even went as far as siding with the Norwegian despite United’s loss severely denting Liverpool’s top-four hopes.
Klopp said: “Playing Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday is a crime.
“If we do not make it into the Champions League, it will not be the fault of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or his players.
“It will be our fault because even in this season, in which we have had so many injuries, we really should have been five or six points better than we are.
“I know Ole made ten changes but I would have done the same thing — I expected him to do that.
“This is the end of a long season already and then you get Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and it’s just not right.
“So it is not the fault of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, even if it means we now need to get a few favours if we are going to make the top four.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
