Jurgen Klopp knows Liverpool have their task cut out with their UEFA Champions League group
Speaking in a pre-match press conference (h/t Daily Mail) before Liverpool take on AC Milan, Jurgen Klopp underlined that the current UEFA Champions League group is the hardest he has had during his time at the club.
The Reds manager is aware of the task at hand. Liverpool are in Group B of the Champions League with seven-time European champions AC Milan, La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, and two-time European Cup/UEFA Champions League winners FC Porto.
The task will not be easy and the 2019 UCL winners have arguably been drawn in the group of death. But the German manager compares this to the time when his Borussia Dortmund side beat all odds to progress from another particularly tough Champions League group.
“This is the strongest group we have had since I’ve been at Liverpool, no doubt about that. In 2013 at Borussia Dortmund, we had a real “Champions League” group as well. We had Manchester City, Real Madrid and Ajax — a proper group!”
The former Mainz and Dortmund manager recognizes what this means for the competition. Two top teams will be eliminated from the Champions League and one of them will make for a very strong entrant into the UEFA Europa League.
But Klopp says that this is exactly the kind of group Liverpool wanted. The manager, much like the travelling Reds fans, says he will be looking forward to the great stadiums and different brands of football his team will come up against.
“It is exactly what we wanted,’ said Klopp, whose side only made certain of their place in the Champions League on the final day of last season. ‘We play Milan, Atletico, Porto, unbelievable stadiums, great crowds, passionate fan base… It’s exactly how we like football, and now we’ve got it, so let’s deal with it.”
More Liverpool News:
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic ruled out for UCL opener against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League
- Youri Tielemans linked with a move to Premier League clubs Liverpool and Manchester United
- Liverpool have held talks with super agent Mino Raiola to sign Erling Haaland
The road to our 7th UEFA Champions League title starts tonight against a team we know well from our meetings in the 2005 and 2007 UCL final. This time, however, the stakes would be a bit less, but it does not take any shine away from the prestige and importance of this famed European tie.
