'LFC can be devastating - no team will want to draw us'
Liverpool’s proven ability to produce ‘devastating’ attacking performances means teams will be eager to avoid the Reds in Friday’s Champions League quarter-final draw.
A total of 28 goals netted in just eight matches makes Jürgen Klopp’s side the competition’s top scorers this season, with five of that haul coming in last month’s breathtaking victory over FC Porto in the last 16.
Both Maribor and Spartak Moscow were thrashed 7-0 in the group stages, and former Liverpool striker John Aldridge is in no doubt that the other clubs involved in the last-eight draw will be wary of the free-scoring Reds.
“On our day, we can be devastating. Look at Maribor - people said they were a poor team, but we’re the only team that beat them away and we beat them 7-0,” Aldridge told Liverpoolfc.com.
“Moscow, they said it was easy when we beat them 7-0 but no one else beat them by that scoreline. Porto, what a performance that was.
“It wasn’t because those teams are poor, it was because we hit the heights going forward and if we hit the heights then teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, the teams that open up, then on our day, if we defend well, we can beat them.
“They know that so would they have to change their game? Perhaps so, which [would be] a bold statement from them and shows you how good we are.
“No team will want to play us, that’s a fact.”
Aldridge also believes the Anfield factor can have a significant bearing on the Reds’ quarter-final tie, regardless of whether Klopp’s men are drawn to play at home in the first leg or second.
“The Porto game, away from home we were magnificent. The job was done at home, it made no difference really and it was just about making sure we got through,” the ex-Republic of Ireland international said.
“But once the quarters come around then it gets tasty and you’ll see Anfield in a different light in the quarter-final game, whoever it’s against. It’ll be massive.
“I’ve seen teams shake in their boots when they’ve heard the atmosphere before the game and it intimidates them and gives us a little bit of an edge.
“I think it’s always nice to be at home in the second leg to have the insurance policy so if something happens away you can retract it at Anfield, but if you’re playing at home [in the first leg] and hypothetically you draw 0-0 then teams will be so wary of us with our away form with away goals counting double. You’d prefer to be at home for the second leg, but the way we play, you never know.
“Can we get to the semis? Of course we can, whoever we play. Can we get to the final? Of course we can. Can we win it? Of course we can. We’re in the shake up, but things have got to go your way a little bit. [You need] a little bit of luck. But certainly we can still dream.”