Liverpool manger Jurgen Klopp says he’s not looking ahead in the UEFA Champions League tournament while at the same exact time claiming his side could beat a potential later opponent. Paris Saint-Germain, one of the Champions League knockout round favorites, take on two time defending champions Real Madrid tonight while Liverpool are at Porto.
Klopp did the industry standard “take ’em one game at a time/just focused on this one/not looking ahead” press conference-ism, while also contradicting himself. The German says that his Reds can handle Paris Saint-Germain, and he bases that off of his side’s 4-3 mid-January win over Manchester City, which ended the Premier League leaders’ long winning streak.
“Probably the strongest team in Europe at the minute is Manchester City,” Klopp said.
“We’ve played them twice and that’s highest level. PSG is a little bit different but I don’t look at them, I only know it already that if we meet them we could beat them. That’s how it is but it’s not important. We are here in Porto and that’s the only thing that matters.
“Usually last 16 doesn’t sound too good in a lot of competitions but in the Champions League it’s quite a message already. There are so many good football teams around who want to be in the competition still and we are in it so that’s cool.”
City are the current favorites among the last 16 teams, often showing 3/1 odds, while Paris Saint-Germain are right behind them at 5/1. Liverpool are receiving the seventh best odds at 14/1. So Klopp’s side certainly has cause to have a chip on their shoulder.
“Now we have to show we don’t only want to be part of the competition, we are quite ambitious,” Klopp continued.
“That’s how it is. You have to take it round by round.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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