‘Liverpool not on a revenge mission against Real Madrid’

Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool are not on a revenge mission against Real Madrid ahead of the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final blockbuster tonight.

The teams will go head-to-head for the first time since the tempestuous 2018 Champions League final, where Mohamed Salah suffered a shoulder injury following a challenge by Sergio Ramos as Real claimed a 3-1 win.

Klopp said: “We are not on a revenge tour here. Life is like this, you try everything to win a game, you lose it and then you meet your opponent again one day.

“Sometimes it’s close enough and you can meet a week or two later and have this kind of emotion still in you.

“I don’t believe too much in revenge but it would be nice to get through against Real Madrid because that would mean we are in the next round and that’s what we actually want to do.”

Klopp believes a contest against Real could play into Liverpool’s hands, as he said: “Our team is built for these kinds of games.
“We face a football-playing side which is very helpful for football in general but for our kind of defending as well and that’s why we have a chance.”

The Reds boss has heard his side are the underdogs to progress, a tag he welcomes.
He added: “I heard outside already everybody says Real Madrid is favourite. Great, no problem at all with that. They are used to the role and we have no problem with the role of the challenger.
“We want to give it a proper try. We know we were really good that night but 25 minutes being really good in a final, it was never enough.

“But it was a different time, we were in a different place, a lot of things have happened. We feel good in our situation but we know we face a difficult opponent.”

Real coach Zinedine Zidane meanwhile has ruled out playing Eden Hazard tonight, saying he will not risk another injury setback for his club’s record signing.
Belgian Hazard, ravaged by injuries since joining Real from Chelsea in 2019, returned to training on Friday ahead of schedule from his latest muscle problem but played no part in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Eibar.

“Hazard needs to stay calm and be patient, the most important thing is that he is completely recovered and I don’t think we’ll hurry his return,” Zidane told a news conference.

Real, who will also be without injured defender Sergio Ramos, have been beset by injury problems all season but they have overcome a poor start to win their last 11 games in all competitions, remaining unbeaten since the end of January.

Record 13-time European Cup winners, Real are Spain’s only remaining representatives in the competition and are back in contention to win the La Liga title, sitting three points behind leaders Atletico Madrid.

Zidane underlined his side’s capacity to overcome problems.
“My team has been underrated but I believe in them and know what they can do,” he said.
“Whenever there are still signs of life, we never give up. We’re going to keep on fighting for everything.”