Klopp Talk: “We Want to Be the One Team Nobody Wants to Play Against”

Liverpool head into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Benfica having won the first leg 3-1. For some managers, that could mean approaching the game with the goal of simply seeing things out. Jürgen Klopp isn’t some managers.

“We will go for it full throttle,” Klopp said when asked if his side might look to nurse their two-goal advantage. “We want to put them under pressure and try to score early. If not, try to score a bit later. So that’s what we’ll do and that’s what we expect.

“I think Benfica respected us before but during the last game I’m pretty sure they felt here and there they could play football but now it’s bad news for Benfica: it’s at Anfield. They not only play against us but against the whole crowd and we hope we can use that.”

Their advantage could be important—as it was in the Round of 16 where they lost the second leg to Inter Milan but still advanced 2-1 on aggregate—but the goal for a Klopp team will always be to put on a show, to press and create and score, and to win.

The goal isn’t simply to advance. It’s to provide another example, more proof, that this Liverpool side is one of the two or three best in all of football. The goal will be to build on their two-goal first leg advantage and to make a statement in victory.

“We want to be the one team that nobody wants to play against,” the Liverpool manager added. “So hopefully we can be that tomorrow night.”