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The German manager awaits a tough test after seeing the Reds tied against strong European opponents.
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool have been selected in a “proper football group” in the first round of the Champions League of the season.
The 2020-21 Champions League group stage draw took place in Geneva on Thursday, with the Reds earning a spot in Pot 1 once again after their Premier League title win.
Merseyside fans might have hoped for an easy path to the knockout stages, but Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland could provide Liverpool with a tough test in Group D.
Ajax enjoyed an exciting run to the competition’s semi-finals two seasons ago, while Atalanta managed to reach the quarter-finals in 2019-20 only to suffer a dramatic defeat at the hands of eventual finalist Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, Danish team Midtjylland will make their first appearance on Europe’s elite stage and will be eager to make their mark, having surprised Slavia Prague in their final standings on Wednesday.
Liverpool won the Champions League for the sixth time in their history in 2018, but withdrew in the round of 16 last season after losing both games of their tie against Atlético de Madrid.
Klopp will hope his team can do it all the way again this time, and he’s looking forward to taking on three teams with very distinctive qualities.
“I didn’t really think about traveling to be honest, but yes, Italy, Holland and Denmark may not be the furthest [away]”said the German coach after the draw.
“Okay, but we don’t think about the kilometers we do in the Champions League, we think about the games we play and I think it’s a very strong group.
“Everybody knows how good Ajax was two years ago and they will always put together a suitable new squad and a suitable team. Midtjylland is for different reasons … one of the most interesting teams because they have quite specific form.
“These are the little data that I have without knowing that we will face them, and Atalanta is obviously a really exciting project for a couple of years. They also play very well, so it seems to me that it is a suitable football group.” .
“All teams try to play real football, all teams run a lot, so the matches will be intense and we will only fly an hour and a half or two instead of four and a half or five, yes that’s good, but we would have played in Moscow or Greece too, there is no doubt about that. “
