WE’VE KOPPED HARDEST GROUP YET SAYS KLOPP
JURGEN KLOPP has warned his Liverpool stars this is the toughest Champions League group they have faced together.
The Reds kick off their fifth campaign in the competition under the German boss with a glamour home tie against European giants AC Milan tonight. Liverpool will also face Porto and La Liga champions Atletico Madrid in Group B.
Klopp (inset) said: “This is the strongest group we’ve had since I’ve been at Liverpool. In 2013 when I was at Dortmund, I had the Champions League group of Man City, Real Madrid and Ajax – all champions and us, a proper group.
“This group shows there are no games where people think, ‘Do we really want to watch that?’
“The group will be exciting from the first to the last second. I can’t see any early decisions made in this group and that keeps us on our toes.” Milan are no longer the fearsome team they were when they met Liverpool in the 2005 and 2007 deciders, while the Reds have dumped Porto out in two of the last four years. But Spanish champions Atletico – who ended the Reds’ reign as European champions in 2020 – will provide a mighty test.
Klopp added: “I don’t think when we saw the draw any one of the four teams said, ‘Oh my God, what a great group!’
“Let’s go for it. It is a tough group, we don’t have to lie.
“We are part of the Champions League, there is no game where people will think about the result or whatever, it is all about getting enough points to get through that group.
“We better not waste time, we should start with that tonight.”