Jurgen Klopp takes his Liverpool team to Atletico Madrid tonight at 9pm knowing they face a war in their Champions League Group B match.
The last time the sides met, Diego Simeone’s manne ended the Reds’ defence of their European title at the last-16 of the 2019/20 season with a 4-2 aggregate win.
Klopp was very critical of Atletico’s counter-attacking tactics at the time, saying: “I don’t understand with the quality they have that they play this kind of football. I don’t understand that. But the winner is always right.”
His comments prompted a backlash from the fiery Simeone, who said they play “to win, with all our soul.”
Klopp, though, doesn’t expect Atletico to sit back at home tonight.
This time, El Cholo has an attack featuring Yannick Carrasco, Thomas Lemar, Joao Felix, Antoine Griezmann and former Kop idol Luis Suarez, looking to leapfrog the Reds to the top of the group with a win.
And Klopp says: “Atletico are different [now] because they play a different system, but they are still the results machine they were before.
“It’s incredible how Diego keeps them all on their toes. No criticism of that.”
But even with his attack of in-form Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, who have fired 27 goals in their last eight games, Klopp is expecting a tight game at the Wanda Metropolitano.
He says: “It’s never easy. It’s Atletico and scoring three goals doesn’t sound likely – have they ever conceded that many in a match?
“It’s one of the tests in European football.”
Simeone, meanwhile, warns he’ll be looking for ways to get the better of Klopp again.
The Argentine says: “What do I expect? A team full of good footballers with clear ideas, so we will try to find a way to hurt them.”