Jurgen Klopp has said Liverpool are “on fire” ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg at home to Porto.
Liverpool have won their last five matches in all competitions and are top of the Premier League following wins over Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur; although Manchester City have a game in hand.
They reached the last eight of the Champions League thanks to a 3-1 win at Bayern Munich and now face a Porto side they thrashed 5-0 at the Estadio do Dragao on the way to last season’s final.
Asked how he was preparing his side for the run-in as they chase two trophies, Klopp said: “We are used to this situation — we have to be all-in every time.
“It’s such a good time, we are in two big competitions and we have to use this situation. We have not finished our development. We want to write a few proper things on the pages of this season’s book.
“We are on fire, to be honest. In training you can see it — we are in a really good moment.”
Liverpool avoided Barcelona, Juventus and Manchester City when they drew Porto, but Klopp stressed that they would be treating the Portuguese champions with the “same respect” they gave Bayern Munich
“Everyone wanted Porto until you have Porto, people [other teams] didn’t want Porto,” Klopp said.
“Last year when we won 5-0 I thought: ‘OK, maybe we shouldn’t come back here for a while,’ but we face them again.
“The result from last year is more valuable for Porto than it is for us. We have to be strong, clear, direct in the right moments and creative.”
Punch
