FC Porto Manager Sergio Conceicao had very high praise for Liverpool heading into the two sides’ Champions League clash on Wednesday night.
“Liverpool are all about the way that I think about football,” the Porto mentor said.
“I like Liverpool’s dynamics, their game model. I like the way they play with the ball and without it — it’s similar to how I see football. In my opinion, in a lot of these moments, they are the best team in the world.”
That’s pretty bold to somebody in the “best in the world” (sometimes) discussion.
If the Reds, up 2-0 on aggregate from the first leg of this tie, can win the Premier League and UCL double this season, well that would certainly qualify as best in the world bonafides.
“When did he say that?” Klopp asked when the quotation was put to him at a media conference.
“He said we are the best team in the world? OK. Sometimes we are really good, that’s true. Hopefully, we can show it again. That’s a compliment, but we know we have a really big job to do tomorrow.”
“So far it’s a very positive season, but we are not here to celebrate our situation, we’re here to get through to the next round. We have to fight really hard because they have won all their home games so far. It’s not about how good our season has been to now.”
“That’s something we can think about at the end of the season.”
Let’s take a look at who Klopp may select in his first team as he looks to guide his side into the semis.
The Bank Liverpool FC Starting XI Prediction vs FC Porto UCL Quarterfinal tie (4-3-3) Leg2/2
Forwards: Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah
Midfielders: James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita
Back line: Andrew Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Goalkeeper: Alisson
Liverpool vs FC Porto UEFA Champions League FYIs (Liverpool up 2-0 on aggregate)
Kickoff- Wednesday Apr 17, Estádio do Dragão 8pm
Google Result Probability- Liverpool win 47%, Draw 27%, FC Porto win 26%
Injury report for both sides- go here to this link
Odds to qualify for the UCL semifinals: Liverpool 1/33, Porto 10/1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.