Liverpool are round of 16 team to avoid, asserts Andy Robertson
Liverpool left back Andy Robertson has claimed that Liverpool are a feared team in Europe and everyone wants to avoid the current Premier League leaders in the Round of 16. The Reds managed to top the group E of the UEFA Champions League with 13 points after beating RB Salzburg 2-0 in Austria.
In an interview with BBC, Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has asserted that Liverpool are a force to reckon with and all the big European clubs would want to avoid the Merseysiders in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. Jurgen Klopp's side have reached the final in the two consecutive years and are looking to keep that run going alongside their unbeaten streak in the Premier League.
The Reds secured their place in the knockout stages with the top spot in their group after securing a hard fought 2-0 victory over spirited RB Salzburg. Napoli managed to put 4 past Genk with the Naples club becoming the second club to qualify from Group E. Robertson went on to admit that Liverpool’s recent performances has entitled his club to earn respect from every opposition.
“We're respected in this tournament. The way we've done things in the last two years, nobody wants to play against us. That's the atmosphere we've created, a team which has been to the final twice and has lost one and won one. Maybe the first season when we went to the final, I don't think we were really respected until maybe after the quarter-final when we went to Porto and washed them away [winning 5-0 in Portugal]. We did not get the respect we deserved. Now, we know we are respected in Europe. No-one will want us,” said the 25 year old Robertson to BBC.Â
The draw for round of 16 of UEFA Champions League takes place at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland at 4:30 PM IST on Monday. Liverpool won four, drew one, and lost one of their matches to top the group, thereby avoiding any of the other group winners in the last 16-Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Juventus, Barcelona, RB Leipzig and Valencia.
It is not possible to combine two sides of the same country, so the Reds will also avoid Tottenham and Chelsea, as well as Napoli, who finished second in Group E. That means they could face Atalanta or Lyon, although Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are also potential opponents.
“We'll wait for the draw and see who we get in the last 16. We know it'll be tough regardless but we look forward to the challenge as we want to go far in this tournament again. Last year and the year before we've been excellent in the knockout stages and we've controlled games but we know that now we're the champions and everyone wants to beat us,” concluded the Scotsman.