Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino has challenged his teammates to make the most of a clean slate as the Reds embark on the knockout stages of the Champions League tonight.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are enduring a difficult period in the Premier League, but speaking to The Mirror, the Brazilian striker has called upon the squad to embrace Europe’s elite competition as a chance to “start from scratch” ahead of the tie with RB Leipzig, saying:
We need to react because the season is not going as we expected, and the Champions League is a good place to do it. We can start from scratch in this competition.
We know there is still a chance to win it. We are not happy with many of our latest results, but this can change – and we can do it in this competition.
Firmino, and Liverpool moreover, have fond recent memories of the Champions League, having lifted the coveted trophy just 20 months ago in Madrid – the club’s sixth triumph on the biggest stage in Europe.
The 29-year-old, who himself has fallen below the standards he set in previous seasons, described the experience of that 2019 triumph against Tottenham as ‘unique‘.
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Despite their current form leading to the fair assumption that there is little hope for the Reds to go all the way in Europe, domestic fortunes and European glory haven’t always gone hand in hand for the Reds historically.
Back in 2004/05, Liverpool finished the Premier League season in fifth, but their European ventures flew in their face of domestic form as Rafa Benitez’s side went to enjoy arguably their most triumphant night in Istanbul in lifting the Champions League trophy in incredible fashion against a star-studded AC Milan.
Whilst nobody is suggesting that a repeat is nailed-on this time around, a seventh Champions League triumph would still make it a successful season for the Reds. Also, as Firmino has hinted, tonight is their chance to set aside their domestic woes and go again in Europe.
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