Klopp hopes Liverpool can evoke the spirit of Barcelona comeback against Atalanta
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will evoke the spirit of their Barcelona comeback when he sends his team out to keep their Europa League hopes alive against Atalanta in Bergamo tonight.
The Reds have a 3-0 deficit to overturn from the first leg if they are to make the semifinals, a scenario which has echoes of their famous comeback to beat the Catalan side in a Champions League semifinal in May 2019 on their way to winning a sixth European Cup. After that victory his players remarked about the stirring speech he gave in the dressing room before kick-off and Klopp said, although he does not yet have anything planned, he can use that brilliant night at Anfield as a reference point even though they will not have the backing of a home crowd.
“I usually don’t prepare these things like that, especially not the day before or four years before whatever,” he said.
“I remember I said, ‘If we fail, then let’s fail in the most beautiful way’. And that’s exactly how I see it again. After the game (last week) everyone in the stadium thought ‘that’s it’. Now it’s a week later I don’t think everyone thinks it is already decided
“We want to win the game. If we want to win, we better play good. If we play good, we have a chance to win it. then we’ ll see .”
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery knows his side will have to be as good as they were against Arsenal if they are to beat Lille in the Europa Conference League quarter-final.
Emery produced a tactical masterclass against his former club at the weekend to mastermind a 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium and strengthen their grip on the Premier League top four. They have travelled to northern france with a 2-1 first leg advantage and have sights on reaching a first European semi-final since 1982.
Emery said on the club’s official website: “Playing against a team like Lille, they are very motivated and they are a very organised team. The result at Villa Park was not enough for us or for them.
“It was a very good result for us in the Premier League but we are trying to separate those competitions. Our motivation in the Premier League is to get a European position.”