Jurgen Klopp accused of taking a 'cheap shot' at Gabriel Agbonlahor

Carlton Cole has jumped to the defence of Gabriel Agbonlahor, accusing Jurgen Klopp of taking a 'cheap shot' at the pundit.

Klopp reacted angrily to Agbonlahor's scathing assessment of Manchester United, calling him out in his pre-match press conference.

The former Aston Villa striker savaged Man United for their dismal showing against Brentford, claiming Erik ten Hag's team played 'like strangers on the pitch'.

Klopp took exception to his words as he hit out at the 35-year-old, revealing he came close to calling in to talkSPORT.

His ruthless response to Agbonlahor doesn't sit well with fellow pundit Cole, who slammed the Liverpool boss.

The ex-Chelsea and West Ham United man reckons Klopp took a 'cheap shot' at Agbonlahor for supposedly claiming he didn't know his second name.

On talkSPORT, Cole said: "It’s a cheap shot from Klopp! Like he didn’t know his second name? It’s cheap!

"If Klopp doesn’t want to hear what Agbonlahor has to say then move on!

"It wasn’t that bad!"

Agbonlahor appeared to have the last laugh, though, as he responded to Klopp's rant with a cheeky post social media.

He shared a picture of himself scoring a winner at Anfield, accompanied with the caption: "Flashback Friday- mentality to score the winner at anfield..."

Klopp's surprising defence of Man United comes as he takes his team to Old Trafford on Monday.

Liverpool have drawn their opening two games against Fulham and Crystal Palace while Man United have yet to record a point from their first two matches.