In case you missed it: Liverpool are up against Porto for the quarter finals of the Champions League and Jurgen Klopp has now had his say on the draw.
The Reds ran out 5-0 winners on aggregate against Porto last year in the round of 16, but Klopp insists that result will have no impact on our upcoming clash with the Portuguese giants.
“What can I say? It’s Porto and we’ve played there already and we know how good we had to be last year,” he told LiverpoolFC.com.
“The result in the end was a strange one; it was very good for us, of course, but it was a strange one. In the second leg, we saw the character of Porto and the quality they have.
“I could not be further away from thinking it’s the best draw because it isn’t – it is just the draw, it’s the opponent we have to prepare for and that’s all we will be thinking about from when we start preparing for the game”.
The manager is being respectful to our opponent but, with the likes of Barcelona, Manchester City and Juventus still competing, it’s hard to agree with him here.
Porto are flying high in the Primeira Liga; they sit level on points with fierce rivals Benfica. They’re actually in a very similar situation to Liverpool when it comes to the domestic league.
Porto were recently usurped at the top of the table as the Dragoes fell 2-1 at home to Benfica. Liverpool similarly had spent several months atop of the Premier League until City caught up and took over.
At least we know it won’t be just us that’ll have one eye on upcoming domestic fixtures when we meet!
“We have a specialist for Porto in our own team in Pep Lijnders being there in the past – and he always speaks with so much respect for that club,” he continued. We will have plenty of information and that’s what you need before a game, but you still have to play it. Now we know it, let’s prepare.”
Liverpool will have the home advantage for the first leg at Anfield on the 9th or 10th of April, with the return leg at the Estadio do Dragao the following week.
The winner of the tie will face off against either Manchester United or Barcelona in the semis.