KLOPP BATTLE CRY
Kop boss will go all out in City clash
JURGEN KLOPP has challenged his squad to create their own history as he promised Liverpool will hit Manchester City with all-out attack.
Klopp believes the stage is set for a clash in the Champions League quarter- final that will highlight the ‘best of football’, particularly as Pep Guardiola is committed to going for goals.
As if expectations were not already sky-high, Cristiano Ronaldo last night scored one of the great European goals in Real Madrid’s 3-0 romp against Juventus to set the standard for the last eight.
City are chasing a Treble but Liverpool have been without silverware since 2012 and Klopp recognises that the time has come to stop harking back to past triumphs.
This clash with City has conjured memories of the dramatic Champions League semi-final with Chelsea in 2005 but Klopp does not want to look back.
‘This club is already full of history and we have to write our own,’ said Klopp, ‘I meet people who can tell me each goal Liverpool scored 37 years ago in the 56th minute (of a game). We need to be proud of our history but we need to create our own history.
‘I did that a lot in the past with my former teams. At one point you need to do your own things. It is a big opportunity for football. Not for us, not for City — for football to show at a really high level what this
game is about. It’s cool. ‘There is no reason to make the game bigger than it is. It is a quarterfinal in the Champions League. It is just a big job to do. If you want go far in this competition it is clear you face the best teams in the world. Sitting back is not a solution against City.’ Andrew Robertson, Liverpool’s left back, claimed his team were the ‘underdogs’ and that all the pressure was on City. But Kevin De Bruyne disputed that and referred to Klopp’s front three of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane as being ‘like a juggernaut’. Guardiola was similarly complimentary about the only team to have beaten them in the top flight this season but, referring to the helter-skelter 4-3 clash in January, he was adamant that would not change his thinking. ‘Of course I consider the value of Liverpool,’ said Guardiola, whose side will train at Goodison Park today. ‘I know their qualities and I’m concerned about what they do. I’m not so arrogant to know what they do. But if you’re thinking we are going to defend 90 minutes and counter-attack — that is not going to happen. ‘Maybe if we defend 90 minutes it’s because Liverpool are unstoppable. But why should it change when we are going well so far? Liverpool respect what football means. They will try to attack and we are going to try too. It is going to be a good game.’ Klopp’s preparations have been disrupted by a season-ending injury to Joel Matip which leaves Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren as the only fit centre halves. Emre Can and Adam Lallana are also out. But City also suffered a setback, with Sergio Aguero not deemed fit enough to travel to Merseyside.