The holders visit Estadio Metropolitano for the first leg of their last-16 clash with Diego Simeone’s team, and the boss is prepared for a testing evening in the Spanish capital.
Liverpoolfc.com caught up with Klopp on board the team flight to Spain - read on for his thoughts on Atletico, the opportunity provided by the Champions League and the Reds’ return to the scene of last season’s European triumph…
On what he expects from Atletico…
A lot, actually. It’s pretty clear when you are 10 points behind Barcelona and Real Madrid you cannot catch both, so the championship is probably done. Qualification, not 100 per cent sure. And Atletico are like us, chasing that trophy for years and years and years, were already twice in the final. It’s something else. The league, I don’t say they struggled, it was a transition period. Really massive players for the club [left] – Godin, Gabi, Griezmann, Juanfran – and they had to replace them. But they do well. I think they will qualify for the Champions League again, which is good, and then next year they are a step ahead. We expect them to try to use this chance. It’s an equal game; they play at home, we have to go there but we try to use the experience from the past.
On Simeone’s side’s impressive home record…
They create an atmosphere and they use the atmosphere. And it’s a very aggressive team, the whole approach is aggressive, the coach is very animated, I would say! We have to be ready for that, for sure.
On whether Atletico’s injury issues have affected his pre-match analysis…
Somebody sent me something that Joao Felix cannot play. Whoever will play in the middle, Vitolo or someone else. Probably in three weeks when we play the next game we’ll have absolutely no clue who they play because then they are all back and they have a massive squad. But a few key players are always involved – the last line, full-backs can change a little bit. Analysis is more about the idea they have, the style of play, the plan or path they follow than individual players. That doesn’t change. The way they defend is consistent for as long as Diego is there. That means it will never change. And the offensive things improve, of course. Defensively, it’s the same and it’s very good – that’s why they stick to it.
On the excitement felt by everyone at Liverpool due to the Champions League being back…
You have to ask the boys, I don’t know exactly. It’s always like this, you can see that. The Champions League, it’s difficult to find the right words, it’s not a must competition, it’s a can, it’s an opportunity. We were twice in the final, we know that, but that’s exceptional, nobody could expect that for sure we will go for the third time to the final. We always did it like we do it now: we are really looking forward to it, we try to enjoy it, we like playing in different countries, in different stadiums, this stadium in particular! And we just do our best and we know ‘get a result which gives us a chance at Anfield and then let’s try it’. We never felt any kind of pressure in the Champions League, it was always just great to be part of and hopefully we can see that again.
On how returning to the Metropolitano will feel…
I don’t know exactly. We go there tonight obviously, which helps, we are in a different dressing room because we had the home dressing room for the Champions League final so that’s already different. It’s just a positive feeling, 100 per cent. Last time it was a massive game and this time it’s a massive game, the only difference is there will probably be more Atletico supporters in the stadium but that’s not too big. It’s nice that we can come back that early, so all good.