Jurgen Klopp has warned his Liverpool stars that Roma’s epic comeback against Barcelona proves the Italian club shouldn’t be underestimated when they clash in the Champions League semi-finals.
Klopp could have been forgiven for feeling relieved that Liverpool avoided holders Real Madrid and formidable German champions Bayern Munich in Friday’s draw.
But the Liverpool manager insists Roma will present a formidable barrier to his team’s bid to reach the Champions League final for the first time since 2007.Roma may lack the star power of their last four rivals, but the Italians underlined their quality by recovering from a 4-1 first leg deficit to eliminate Barcelona with a stunning 3-0 success in the second leg on Tuesday.At the same time as Roma’s comeback for the ages, Liverpool were easing into the semi-finals with a 5-1 aggregate success against Premier League leaders Manchester City.I tried to think about what I feel, but it was not that I thought ‘Thank God not Bayern, thank God not Real Madrid, yippee Roma’ or the other way around,” Klopp told Liverpool’s website.
“Whichever opponent we would have got, I would have said there is a chance because it is football – so there is a chance against Roma.
“But if anybody think this is the easiest draw then I cannot help this person; they obviously didn’t see both games against Barcelona.
“The second leg was outstanding, it was outstanding what they did. They should have probably won four or five-nil – I was really impressed.”
Klopp could have been forgiven for feeling relieved that Liverpool avoided holders Real Madrid and formidable German champions Bayern Munich in Friday’s draw.
But the Liverpool manager insists Roma will present a formidable barrier to his team’s bid to reach the Champions League final for the first time since 2007.Roma may lack the star power of their last four rivals, but the Italians underlined their quality by recovering from a 4-1 first leg deficit to eliminate Barcelona with a stunning 3-0 success in the second leg on Tuesday.At the same time as Roma’s comeback for the ages, Liverpool were easing into the semi-finals with a 5-1 aggregate success against Premier League leaders Manchester City.I tried to think about what I feel, but it was not that I thought ‘Thank God not Bayern, thank God not Real Madrid, yippee Roma’ or the other way around,” Klopp told Liverpool’s website.
“Whichever opponent we would have got, I would have said there is a chance because it is football – so there is a chance against Roma.
“But if anybody think this is the easiest draw then I cannot help this person; they obviously didn’t see both games against Barcelona.
“The second leg was outstanding, it was outstanding what they did. They should have probably won four or five-nil – I was really impressed.”
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