Lazio goal machine Ciro Immobile has said he hopes to avoid Liverpool as the Serie A side sealed qualification to the knockout phase of the Champions League.
The 30-year-old, who won last season’s Serie A Golden Boot with a mammoth 36-goal tally, scored as Lazio made it to the next stage of the competition for the first time in two decades with a 2-2 draw against Belgian side Club Brugge.
The Italian scored his 11th goal of the season from the penalty spot against former Reds goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to help send his team, containing ex-Anfield stars Pepe Reina, Lucas Leiva, and Luis Alberto, through to the last 16.
After the match, Immobile told Sky Sports Italia who he hopes to avoid in the next round, revealing: ”Now we wait for the draw and hope not to be drawn with prohibitive teams such as Bayern or Liverpool.”
Jurgen Klopp’s side are in Denmark tonight to round off their own Group D campaign with a clash against FC Midtjylland, having already qualified for the last 16 as group winners.
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Immobile’s views serve to highlight the aura this current Liverpool squad hold around Europe, owing to the success that Klopp has achieved with the Reds at home and abroad in the last 18 months.
Bayern Munich’s inclusion comes as no surprise, being the current holders of the competition after the Reds went out at the round of 16 stage last season having reached back-to-back finals in the two previous years.
After finishing second in Group F behind Klopp’s former club Borussia Dortmund, there is a strong possibility that Immobile could get the draw he dreads and rock up at Anfield in the spring.
