Klopp Said About Liverpool Against Madrid In The Last 16 Of UCL: The Match Is Still A Few Months Away, There Is No Need For Much Fun

Jurgen Klopp (Instagram @liverpoolfc)

JAKARTA Jurgen Klopp said his Liverpool team was ready to accept attractive challenges against European defending champions Real Madrid in the last 16 of the 2022/2023 European Champions League.

The two European giants had to face each other early in the draw which was held on Monday, November 7 yesterday evening. The Reds, who were runners up in the group stage, had a big impact on the results of this draw.

"The first thing I can say is that this draw is the real Champions League. This is one of the draw that makes us all excited," said Klopp, reported by Eurosport, Tuesday, November 8.

The duel with Los Blancos was a final repeat last season. At that time, Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid came out as champions through a single goal scored by Vinicius Jr.

We’ll face Real Madrid in the #UCL last-16 👊#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/OLBbi4v827

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 7, 2022

Madrid also previously came out victorious when they met in the final of the 2017/2018 season. Los Blancos also qualified for the semifinals after winning 3-1 on the Reds in the quarter-finals of the 2020/2021 season.

"I know we've played against Real Madrid in recent finals, but not often our two clubs have met in two legs. So now we can look forward to this happening," Klopp said.

"It's a very good draw. A very interesting draw. The game itself is still a few months away, but it doesn't take much imagination to think about what the atmosphere would be like in those two matches," he added.

Currently Real Madrid are the most successful European team of all time in the history of this competition. They won a total of 14 European Champions League titles, including five in the last nine years.

Meanwhile, Liverpool last won this prestigious trophy in 2018/2019 for their sixth title. They became the third most successful team behind Madrid and AC Milan who have come out seven times as champions.

"Real record in Europe is the best. We know this. But we also know that we're not too bad. Besides, we know that we have Anfield and everyone knows what this means," Klopp said.