Klopp: “We Could Play at Leipzig”

There is an air of uncertainty surrounding Liverpool’s upcoming Champion’s League tie vs RB Leipzig. Travelers from the United Kingdom are not allowed to enter Germany under the current COVID-19 restrictions, so UEFA is exploring the possibility of having the first leg of the Liverpool-RB Leipzig round of 16 tie played at a neutral venue.

With no final decision yet made, Liverpool’s manager, Jürgen Klopp, has admitted he believes the Reds could travel and play safely if the German government were to grant an exception to their current travel restrictions so the match could take place as scheduled.

“With all the stuff we do I think it would have been absolutely reasonable to make an exception, but I don’t know exactly who decided it in the German government but they said ‘so far not possible’,” said Klopp.

The UK is home to one of several recently discovered COVID-19 strains that are spreading faster than the previously known variations of the virus, and it’s for this reason that Germany has implemented the additional restrictions on travel from the UK.

Despite this, Klopp feels as though the measures Liverpool has in place to mitigate potential exposure to the virus should be sufficient for the Reds to safely travel to Leipzig if they were granted an exception.

“We know there is another strain but we are really in a bubble and we could play at Leipzig without spreading the virus. Let’s just say that once.”

Ultimately, the decision is out of the German manager’s hands, and though it is yet to be determined where the match will take place, it seems clear it will not be in Leipzig. Though Klopp is understandably frustrated that the location is still unknown less than two weeks out, he is resigned to accepting whatever UEFA decides.

“But it is like it always was, the rules are rules and we will accept them so I don’t know where we will play.”