Klopp: “Real Madrid match forced me to do something I haven’t done a year ago”
Jurgen Klopp spoke to the media at the press conference ahead of the first leg of the Champions League last 16 match against Real Madrid tomorrow, Tuesday, at Anfield.
Here are his most important comments at the press conference:
“There is a chance” that Darwin Nunez, who picked up a shoulder injury in the win over Newcastle on Saturday, could play, but Klopp said “it depends on how he deals with the pain”.
After the successive victories, Klopp said: “We looked like a team again, but we still have to prove this point.”
The German said that the recent results helped in this match: “It looks different – we feel it, we see it, and it helps the mood a lot.”
Klopp said he could not wait to watch the Liverpool fans enjoy this confrontation, adding: “Our people are a football-loving people and the presence of Real Madrid in the city is the best occasion to celebrate this type of event in the best way possible.”
He said he had nothing but respect for his counterpart Carlo Ancelotti and his team because they are “absolutely world class”. Klopp added: “They are a well-prepared team and that is why it is so difficult. But this does not mean that it is impossible.
The German coach emphasized the danger of Vinicius Junior, but he admitted that he would not defend him individually, but must defend in a collective way, because Real Madrid possesses other important elements in the attack, such as Benzema and Rodrigo, as well as Modric in the midfield, describing them as global players.
The Reds boss said he watched a replay of last season’s Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid for the first time in a year this weekend, which was “proper torture because we deserved to win with all the chances that were missed.”
Source: bbc
