Football
Glenn Price, Liverpool correspondent 6y

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp: Nobody wants to get us in UCL draw

LIVERPOOL -- Jurgen Klopp believes a team "will not be happy" to draw Liverpool in the Round of 16 of the Champions League after their 7-0 win over Spartak Moscow on Wednesday.

Philippe Coutinho's first-ever Liverpool hat trick helped the Reds breeze into the knockout stages for the first time since the 2008-09 season, with Sadio Mane netting a double and Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah scoring the other goals in the Anfield rout.

Despite topping Group E, Liverpool could still draw Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Juventus in the knockout stages of Europe's premier club competition.

"I think it's really strange this year," Klopp told his postmatch news conference. "In the last 16 of the Champions League there are only strong teams, but this year it's quite special. I don't think you can often face Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the last 16 if you win the group. That's quite interesting.

"Antonio Conte said it yesterday, there are no easy opponents. I don't think anybody is happy when they get us in the draw, so we will not be happy in the moment when we see who we will face in the next round, but we will be ready -- that's for sure."

In total, Liverpool scored 23 goals in the Champions League group stages, which included two 7-0 results -- the other was a record-breaking win at Maribor in October.

"All the games were related to our quality," Klopp said. "I love in sport when you really respect the performance of the better team.

"We were the better team tonight, obviously. But it was nothing to do with the quality of Moscow. They are really strong. It was about us in the games. I said before the game that we deserve this final with all the good performances and the not-that-good results. Obviously we were ready for that tonight. I'm really happy about that."

On the Spartak game itself, Klopp added: "It was not easy. With my assistants when it was 6-0, we looked at each other and went: 'Wow, how did that happen?'

"I didn't see a lot of teams lose 7-0, but even when it was 3-0, 4-0 and 5-0 they still played football, had their moments and scoring situations somehow.

"We had to play exactly the level we played tonight to beat them. Then because of the development of the game, it was a high result. That's all.

Meanwhile, Alberto Moreno was forced off injured in the first half and replaced by James Milner, with the Liverpool manager unsure about the severity of the Spaniard's injury.

"He's a tough guy. If he cannot continue then we should consider it to be something serious," Klopp said of his left-back. "In the treatment room he was a little more positive, so maybe we are lucky and it's not too serious. We will see."

^ Back to Top ^