Jurgen Klopp has given his reaction to the Champions League draw, revealing he’s happy to be avoiding Manchester City.
The quarter-final draw was made on Friday, and City will face Borussia Dortmund as they attempt to competition that has eluded Pep Guardiola during his time in Manchester.
Liverpool are set to play Real Madrid over two legs and, despite reaching two Champions League finals across the last three years, Klopp doesn't sound too confident about their prospects this campaign.
Speaking to Liverpool’s official club website, Klopp admitted that teams want to avoid drawing their domestic rivals.
“I think we are all the same. Bayern doesn’t want to play Dortmund, for example, because they are from the same country and for us, it was City and Chelsea,” he said.
“If we can avoid as long as possible then you do it, but all the rest, it was clear we would face a tough opponent.”
The German has said in the past he respects City but doesn’t fear them — although his reaction to the Champions League draw perhaps contradicts this stance.
Klopp’s wariness of City would be understandable, given the Blues' renaissance this season in the Premier League.
There’s no denying Liverpool’s defence of the title has been disastrous, and they currently sit 25 points behind City in the league table.
When both sides last met in early February, City asserted their dominance at Anfield, recording a memorable 4-1 win with goals from Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden.
