Jurgen Klopp is under no illusion of the size of the task that lies ahead. Liverpool face European heavyweights Real Madrid trailing by three goals heading into tomorrow’s game.
The Reds will be without talisman Jordan Henderson and the energetic Stefan Bajcetic.
It is a mammoth challenge but as we know Liverpool, impossible tasks and European nights are a recipe for memorable games.
Speaking ahead of the game the Liverpool boss said:
I am happy to be here and what I said after the game on the night, three weeks ago, Madrid with the result are through to the next round. But now we are three weeks later and know there a game to play – and if there is only a one per cent chance, I would like to give it a try. We are here to play an extremely strong opponent and try to win the game tomorrow. As difficult as it is, it’s probably possible – not likely, but possible and for that we are here. Then we will see where it leads us to. That is pretty much all. We respect the competition too much, we respect the opponent too much to not look forward to this game tomorrow, to be honest. It is a tough task, we caused ourselves not a great situation we are in, but as I said, I am looking forward to the game anyway.
Is this the most difficult [situation]? I don’t know. It is difficult because we will probably not go through to the next round. Here in this room I think 100 per cent of the people think we have no chance and if I am the only one who thinks we are have a little [chance] I am fine. We are the complete outsider for tomorrow, 100 per cent. It is Real Madrid, they are three goals up, that is nothing you want for Christmas or whatever – you don’t want this, but it is the situation now, it is football and we try to give it a go, that’s all.
As I said, we are here to win a football game. That is difficult enough in this place, it doesn’t happen a lot, it’s not like frequently teams are coming to the Bernabeu and winning a game. This is one of the best teams in the world we face tomorrow, you don’t come here and just expect to win it, but that’s why we are here, we give it a proper try to win it and then we will see how that goes, but it’s not about sitting here and telling three goals is no problem, of course it is a problem. On the other side, three is only possible if we don’t concede, because otherwise we have to score more, which makes it a bit more unlikely. So, that’s it. I understand 100 per cent, but as I said, with all the questions you have here is completely fine, if I would sit on that side of the table, I would see it the same: there is no chance for Liverpool. That means we are alone with a little belief, in a chance, not in doing it. Now we try tomorrow, we will see.
