Jurgen Klopp has jokingly suggested he already knows who Liverpool will be drawn against in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The Reds booked their place in the last 16 as group winners with an incredible seven-goal demolition of Spartak Moscow, though can still be drawn against the champions of Italy, Germany and Spain.
And, given how often he met them while in charge of Borussia Dortmund, Klopp is already bracing himself for the prospect of facing Real Madrid in the next round.
Speaking to BT Sport about the next round, he laughed and said: ‘I don’t mind too much. Usually I always get Real Madrid.
‘If it’s possible, I always play Real Madrid, so we will see what happens this time.
‘But we have no preference for opponent. We are just happy to go to the next round and we’re still in the competition and when the next year starts it will be really nice.
‘After a long time, showing up, Liverpool is here again. I love this kind of news.’
In his final year at Dortmund, Klopp was eliminated by Juventus – who Liverpool could also draw – while in the two years previous he drew Real Madrid.
In the 2012/13 season, they met in the semi-finals, with Dortmund progressing 3-4 on aggregate, though Los Blancos got their revenge a year later in the quarter-finals.
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On Wednesday, Philippe Coutinho scored a hat-trick, Sadio Mane bagged a brace and Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah both got on the score sheet against Spartak, and Klopp was delighted with his side’s performance.
He continued: ‘Nobody could imagine that the night would go like this. It was an all or nothing game for both teams, that was clear.
‘Spartak are a really good side. I know people may not think it after this.
‘We opened the game in a perfect way, played the right passes in behind, got the penalty and from this moment on didn’t have to defend anymore. So it was a nice night at Anfield.’
More: Liverpool FC
Jurgen Klopp has jokingly suggested he already knows who Liverpool will be drawn against in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The Reds booked their place in the last 16 as group winners with an incredible seven-goal demolition of Spartak Moscow, though can still be drawn against the champions of Italy, Germany and Spain.
And, given how often he met them while in charge of Borussia Dortmund, Klopp is already bracing himself for the prospect of facing Real Madrid in the next round.
Speaking to BT Sport about the next round, he laughed and said: ‘I don’t mind too much. Usually I always get Real Madrid.
‘If it’s possible, I always play Real Madrid, so we will see what happens this time.
‘But we have no preference for opponent. We are just happy to go to the next round and we’re still in the competition and when the next year starts it will be really nice.
‘After a long time, showing up, Liverpool is here again. I love this kind of news.’
In his final year at Dortmund, Klopp was eliminated by Juventus – who Liverpool could also draw – while in the two years previous he drew Real Madrid.
In the 2012/13 season, they met in the semi-finals, with Dortmund progressing 3-4 on aggregate, though Los Blancos got their revenge a year later in the quarter-finals.
More: Football
On Wednesday, Philippe Coutinho scored a hat-trick, Sadio Mane bagged a brace and Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah both got on the score sheet against Spartak, and Klopp was delighted with his side’s performance.
He continued: ‘Nobody could imagine that the night would go like this. It was an all or nothing game for both teams, that was clear.
‘Spartak are a really good side. I know people may not think it after this.
‘We opened the game in a perfect way, played the right passes in behind, got the penalty and from this moment on didn’t have to defend anymore. So it was a nice night at Anfield.’
