Jurgen Klopp has identified the three sides he hopes Liverpool avoid in the Champions League quarter-finals following their memorable success against Bayern Munich.
After five successive European defeats away from Anfield, Klopp’s side – losing finalists last season – came good when it mattered to beat Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena to secure a place in the last eight.
The Reds manager claims the victory puts Liverpool “back where they belong”, while Bayern manager Niko Kovac was wholesome in his praise for Liverpool.
Some of European football’s strongest sides lie in wait for the Reds in the next phase, while there is also a strong chance Liverpool could be pitched against one of their Premier League rivals, with Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United also making it through.
And discussing which sides he wants to avoid Klopp admits he hopes the Reds are paired with a continental side – as opposed an English opponent.
When asked on BT Sport if he’d like to avoid an English team, Klopp said: “We all would do that, we all would say the same in the Champions League ‘let’s try to play teams from Europe’ but we will see.
“Somebody will play against somebody. But it’s nothing we have to think about now
“Whoever we get as an opponent we will take and the boys love the competition and they really dig in in these moments and they give everything and I like it.
“The desire tonight, the attitude was outstanding, so many problems [James] Milner was – not at risk, I wouldn’t say – but he only trained twice after his muscle [problem] and I don’t think anybody else would have said ‘green light, I can go’ and then play in that game.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s just brilliant, Gini [Wijnaldum] plays all our games. Fabinho plays all our games after he came on after a couple of minutes.
“And again the front three working so hard, it was just brillaint. And again the players that came on working so hard.”