Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has warned that there is still a gap between the Reds and Real Madrid despite his club’s remarkable run to the Champions League final.
Speaking to the club website after Monday’s open training session, the German said that Madrid are a ‘world-class’ team and Liverpool are a ‘top-class’ team.
The two sides contest the final in Kiev on Saturday, and Klopp knows just how much of a test it will be:
Now it’s clear, if we would’ve played like Juventus or would’ve tried to play like them, we would’ve gone out in the group stage. If we would’ve tried to play like Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid, whatever, we would’ve been out in the group stage.
So we have to be a little bit more lively than other teams because we have a lack of experience in comparison with the really big teams. For example, Real Madrid are a world-class team [and] we are a top-class team – there’s still a difference and if you are not on the same level, you have to invest more, you have to do more.
Liverpool’s run to the final has been an eventful one after initially overcoming Hoffenheim in a two-legged play-off to reach the group stage.
The Reds have scored an incredible 46 goals in the competition this season, including putting seven past Maribor and Spartak Moscow.
Liverpool overcame Roma in the semi-final 7-6 on aggregate, following a 5-2 win at Anfield.
The Reds are looking to win the competition for the sixth time, while Madrid have won it on 12 previous occasions.
