Reds legend Graeme Souness has shared his immediate reaction to Liverpool drawing Real Madrid in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Taking to talkSPORT, the pundit claimed the result will depend on what Liverpool team decides to turn up; whether they come in on form or struggle from the off, having been incredibly fluctuant thus far this season.
“I think Chelsea will be fine, I think [Manchester] City will be fine, I think Tottenham will be fine – AC Milan are a shadow of what they were,” he said.
“For Liverpool, it’s a name (Madrid) – what that name conjures up.
“They seem to be able to, even when they’re not doing well domestically, they seem able to turn up in those games – they’ve just got a way of winning.
“I come back to it. It all depends on which Liverpool turns up. When I saw Liverpool in the first half yesterday, that’s as good as it gets. That was a team bang on it. They were fabulous. And you’d say they’d be happy to play anyone in this competition if that was their standard and level of performance.
“In the second half, we played second fiddle to a Tottenham team who upped their aggression stakes, and they found it hard to live with. It really depends on what Liverpool turn up.”
Souness reacts to Liverpool drawing Real Madrid
Despite the Reds’ continental success in recent years, under Klopp the Merseyside club have exclusively been knocked out of the Champions League by teams from Madrid.
However, the one campaign they didn’t play a club from Madrid, they won the continental trophy – with the final taking place in the Spanish capital.
Having lost two Champions League finals to Los Blancos in the past four years, Liverpool should be up for revenge when they welcome Carlo Ancelotti’s team to Anfield.
Whether that will be the case, this remains to be seen. Souness is spot on about how it appears to be a mystery as to which of Klopp’s sides turn up – beating the likes of Manchester City one week and subsequently losing to Nottingham Forest the next.
However, it would be wrong to doubt Liverpool in the European competition. The Reds are feared across the continent, as they always seem to pull off an emphatic result on club football’s biggest stage.
Therefore, fingers crossed Klopp’s men have sorted out their fluctuating form and have found stability when it comes to playing Madrid in the round of 16.