Klopp banking Anfield factor to beat Madrid
Klopp believes that the two-legged nature of this tie will give Liverpool a greater chance of success.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has said that Anfield could be a decisive factor after his Liverpool side were drawn against the defending champions Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Liverpool lost 1-0 to Real in the final in Paris in May and were also beaten 3-1 by the side in the 2018 final, and overcoming the Spanish club looks a tall order again given Liverpool’s struggles in the Premier League this season.
But Klopp believes that the two-legged nature of this tie will give Liverpool a greater chance of success.
“The first thing that we can say about this draw is it is proper Champions League,” the Liverpool manager said. “This is a tie that speaks for itself and one that we should all be excited about.
“I know we have played Real Madrid in a couple of recent finals but it is not so often that our two clubs have met in a two-legged tie, so now we can look forward to this happening.
“Real’s European record is the best around. We know this. But we also know that ours is not too bad. On top of this, we know that we have Anfield, and everyone knows what this means.”
All four English clubs qualified for the round of 16: Manchester City face RB Leipzig and Chelsea take on Borussia Dortmund, while Tottenham Hotspur will play AC Milan. Another highlight of the draw is Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich. Eintracht Frankfurt take on Napoli, Inter Milan face Porto and Club Bruges take on Benfica.
Last month Real’s president, Florentino Pérez, cited the lack of matches against Liverpool in Europe as one of the reasons why a breakaway Super League was needed. He said: “We believe that midweek European competitions should change to be able to offer fans matches throughout the year, at the highest level, between the strongest teams and with the best players.
“If we look at the last Champions League finalists, Liverpool, a historic team with six European Cups, it turns out that we have played them only nine times in 67 years.”
Chelsea facing Dortmund will be a clash of Thomas Tuchel’s former teams, and the German side will provide a strong test for Graham Potter.
