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Madrid (AP) - With a mixture of great respect and healthy self-confidence, Liverpool FC enters the first meeting with Real Madrid since the lost Champions League final in 2018.
“They are the team with the most titles in this competition and are therefore used to the knockout phase.
We have to do our best to get a decent result, ”said striker Diogo Jota on Monday evening after arriving in Madrid at an online press conference.
The English soccer champions play the quarter-final first leg in the Champions League this Tuesday (9 p.m. / Sky).
The second leg will take place on April 14th in Anfield.
Liverpool had eliminated RB Leipzig in the round of 16.
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The Portuguese Jota had recommended himself for the starting XI against Madrid with two goals in the latest 3-0 victory in the Premier League against Arsenal.
But coach Jürgen Klopp left it open whether he would let the 24-year-old attacking midfielder play from the start.
Liverpool had recently celebrated three straight wins without conceding a goal.
"We're in a good phase," said Jota.
Despite the upswing, Klopp warned: "We have to play very well, otherwise we have no chance."
For Liverpool FC, winning the premier class is one of two ways to play in the Champions League again in the coming season after a mixed season.
In the Premier League, the champions are sixth, two points behind Chelsea, who are fourth in the last qualifying place.
"We have to chase the team in front of us now and we have to chase Real Madrid," said Klopp.
«I want to show our fans that we are still fighting.
We want to get everything we can out of the season.
We're still fighting for a place in the Champions League. "
According to him, the anger about the 3-1 loss in the 2018 final and the circumstances of the defeat has long since subsided.
«The motivation is the greatest possible, because we want to reach the next round and play against Real Madrid.
But that has nothing to do with 2018.
That was a long time ago, ”said Klopp.
You can't bring back the feeling and the anger from back then.
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At that time, Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah had to leave the field prematurely after a duel with Real captain Sergio Ramos.
Ramos later hit the then Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius with his elbow on the head.
Karius then made two serious mistakes that led to goals conceded.
«In general: It is not a revenge.
But it would be nice to knock out Real Madrid, because that means we're one round ahead, "said the 53-year-old and said with conviction:" Our team is made for these types of games. "
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210405-99-93631 / 2
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