Jurgen Klopp compared Liverpool's youth players such as Conor Bradley and Jayden Danns to Luke Littler after the Southampton win.
The darts player became a global star as he reached the World Darts Championship final aged 16 over Christmas.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Littler, who is a Man United fan, reacted to the Liverpool manager's words.
"I actually watched the final and the young lads are doing well, but if he wants to compare them to me then he can," he said.
"I actually woke up and someone told me that he compared me to his young lads, so I went online and watched the video. I gave it a like and went on to the next video. That was literally another day in my life."
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Forest game, Klopp said that he wanted to take his words back to avoid putting pressure on the Reds' youngsters.
"I don't feel that [protecting young players], I know that," the boss said. "You [the media] are all not ready to do it so somebody has to ask for it. Nobody is Luke Littler.
"I would like to eat my words that I mentioned that night [Wednesday], I gave, again, an assist, to some people to understand the wrong way. It’s my fault.
"What could disturb a career for a young prospect, [media attention] is always one part of it. It was wonderful, they deserve it, the spotlight was on them that night [against Southampton].
"You don't live on the planet if you don't see how special the story was but, besides that, the next challenge is now how to deal with all the things coming up. These boys are fantastic in that department as well. Really down to earth and grounded, all that is absolutely fine."
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