Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confident of beating Europe's best in Champions League adventure

Klopp is not getting ahead of himself but he is confident his side can overcome any opponent

Jurgen Klopp was in good spirits ahead of Liverpool's last-16 tie (Getty)

Jürgen Klopp believes his Liverpool players have shown that they what it takes to compete with the very best in Europe, believing they could beat the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

Liverpool will take part in their first Champions League knockout tie for nine years on Wednesday night when they meet Porto at the Estadio do Dragao, though Klopp does not believe the club’s recent record of underachievement counts against them.

In Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and the free-scoring Mohamed Salah, Liverpool are blessed with a frontline that has the potency to dismantle even Europe’s best defences. This fact is not lost on their manager, who is sure his side can overcome any opponent on their day.

“I know it already, I don’t need to look at them,” he said on Tuesday. “Probably the strongest team in Europe at the minute is Manchester City. We’ve played them twice and at the highest level. PSG is a little bit different but I don’t look at them, I only know it already that if we meet them we could beat them.”

Klopp remains focused on the task at hand though and will not allow himself to think beyond this last-16 tie, knowing it would be unwise to underestimate Sergio Conceicao’s formidable Portuguese league leaders.

“We are in Porto and that is the only thing. We can make one mistake [underestimating Porto], that is how it is in life. And of course we as a team we will never do that,” he said.

“This is our draw, it is a difficult job for both teams. Porto are really strong, really aggressive, very physical, but we are good as well and it will be quite an interesting game.”

This will be Liverpool’s first foray into European competition since Philippe Coutinho’s high-profile departure last month.

The influential playmaker was not replaced in the January transfer window and his absence has indeed increased the responsibilities of those left behind, but the early signs have been promising. Though Mané is suffering a spell of poor form, Salah continues to score unabated and Firmino appears to be hitting new heights.

Only Cristiano Ronaldo scored more goals than the Brazilian in this year’s Champions League group stage and his form has only improved since, the highlight being his masterful display Sunday’s 2-0 win over Southampton.

When asked whether he believes Firmino to be underrated, Klopp said: “I don’t think so, not anymore. I don’t know what other people think about Roberto Firmino. I can imagine a bit because you ask me about it. I have no idea. People with a football brain judge him right. That’s how it is.

“For me we spoke about Roberto weeks ago, months ago, whenever. When I came in I said immediately that I was happy he was here.

“I don’t think he has stepped up but maybe it is more obvious because his situations are not overshadowed by Phil Coutinho’s situations. That’s how it is. That is all.

“He’s a very important player and he doesn’t always have to be the standout player. As often as he can be, that’s good.”

The Liverpool manager added: “We qualified for the Champions League without Phil, he was not involved in either of the Hoffenheim games,” harking back to August’s playoff round against the capable Bundesliga outfit.

“Of course they [Firmino, Salah and Mané] are fantastic players but we don’t have to think about that. We will have a good team tomorrow night and we will have the best team that can line up. It is not about who we play it is about how we play and what we do.

“All the players we have here are fantastic players, it’s about really how we stick to the way we want to play. In difficult situations you have to make the right decisions, that’s always like that. You have to cause them problems, problems and problems. Problems they don’t know about.”