Jurgen Klopp has conceded his relief at avoiding Manchester City and Chelsea in the Champions League draw, which revealed Liverpool’s path to the final.
The Reds will face Benfica in the last eight of the competition, with the winners taking on either Villarreal or Bayern in the semi-final. City, meanwhile, will play Atletico Madrid and Chelsea will face Real Madrid.
The draw means Liverpool will only play a Premier League team if they and City or Chelsea reach the final. Klopp’s side have a mixed record against English teams in Europe, beating Man United and Tottenham but losing to City.
“I would have taken everybody but the only thing I didn’t want was an English team,” said Klopp when asked about the draw on Friday.
“We had that in the past and we went through, we played a final against an English team, it’s absolutely fine, in the final anyway you take whoever you get. We play [the English clubs] often enough during a season and it’s good if you play somebody else.”
Liverpool are aiming to win a quadruple. They’ve already lifted the EFL Cup and sit second in the Premier League, one point behind City. They’ve also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, travelling to Nottingham on Sunday.
On the cup tie, Klopp added: “If we take only a little bit off the gas… not even fully, just a little bit – gone. Three competitions, ‘See you later.’ No chance. If we just go in that direction thinking, ‘That’s a little bit of a relief’ [the FA Cup] that would be a problem.
“Yes, they are a Championship side but one in a really good moment. You can see how they set up in a system, big talent in the team as well – probably the whole Premier League is after them.”
