EUROPE ON REDS ALERT

Klopp: We owe Sevilla for final defeat and teams fear us.. but we must not take anyone for granted

JURGEN KLOPP claims Liverpool have unfinished business with Sevilla, after the Reds were drawn with the Spaniards in the Champions League.

Liverpool came out of the pot with the La Liga side, Spartak Moscow and Maribor in Group E, and Klopp has not forgotten the pain of losing to Sevilla in the 2016 Europa League final.

The Reds were leading 1-0 at half-time, before capitulating 3-1 to miss out on a Champions

League place in the most gut-wrenching night of the manager’s two-year Kop reign so far.

“With Sevilla, there is an open bill, I would say,” said the Liverpool boss. “But we all know how good they are in European competition.

“Moscow is a long trip and Maribor, in this moment, you don’t know a lot about them. A lot of people would underestimate them – we will not.

“So, we don’t think about the opponent, we just think about the competition. We’ll analyse and take everything seriously, because we want to go as far as possible.

“It’s the Champions League, so that means they all earn our 100 per cent respect. That’s what we will show and, hopefully, we have a few really good games.”

Liverpool have not reached the tournament’s knockout round since the 2008-09 season and Klopp says the Reds will be feared because of their scintillating display against Hoffenheim.

“In this moment, for sure,” said the German. “But it depends on our performance. The first 20 minutes against Hoffenheim (in the second leg) were probably some of the best pieces of football I was ever part of.

“That was really impressive. But we have to replicate this. We have to do it again and again and again. Then we can be successful. That’s good news, but hard work also.”

Klopp, who reached the 2013 final with Borussia Dortmund, was keen to keep a lid on Liverpool’s expectations following their return to the big time.

He insists they are not favourites to top Group E and must aim to win every match, not just at Anfield.

“In the group stage, you need to get each point and each result you can get,” he said. “That’s what we think about.

“For sure, we need to make sure that Anfield is a really difficult hill to climb for other teams. But that doesn’t mean we go to other stadiums and think a point will be enough. I don’t think it makes sense to think like this.

“We are not the favourite in the tournament, we are not the favourite in the group – we are just a challenger. The challenger should be 100 per cent concentrated and give everything, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”

But Emre Can couldn’t hide his excitement at the statement of intent issued by Liverpool’s performance on Wednesday.

The quality of Can, the mesmerising Sadio Mane, lightning-quick Mohamed Salah and exquisite form of Roberto Firmino offering after-burner pace, left even visiting coach Julian Nagelsmann saying: “How do you stop them? Don’t ask me, we couldn’t. You can’t use a motor or propeller against them.”

Can (left) said: “There are so many options. There is always a pass. They are quick and always moving into space. You can always play the ball to them and it’s so nice to play with them.

“Sadio is a world-class player. He has so many qualities. He’s a very strong player, he’s a very quick player, he’s always scoring goals and creating chances for the team.

“You could say he’s made a big step forward during his time here. “I’m so happy I have such good team-mates. Sadio, Salah, Firmino, everyone. It’s brilliant to play with them.”

The challenge now will be for Liverpool to reproduce it on Europe’s greatest stage.

‘With Sevilla it’s an open bill, but we know how good they are in Europe’