Roberto Firmino says Liverpool can beat any English team in Champions League quarter-finals
The Brazilian believes he and his team-mates have nothing to fear in the last eight
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Your support makes all the difference.Roberto Firmino believes Liverpool would have no problem facing a fellow English club in the Champions League quarter-finals and could beat any one of their Premier League rivals in European competition.
Jürgen Klopp’s side safely secured their passage to the last-eight on Tuesday night with a goalless draw against Porto at Anfield, having defeated their guests 5-0 away from home in the first leg.
One of three Premier League clubs could await Liverpool in the next round and Firmino believes results against their rivals under Klopp show they have nothing to fear.
Liverpool remain the only side to inflict a league defeat on champions-elect Manchester City this season, while Chelsea were beaten at Stamford Bridge last season.
Though Klopp has never recorded a domestic victory over historic rivals Manchester United, his side did eliminate Louis van Gaal’s United from the Europa League on their way to the final in 2016.
“Yes, we’d like a draw against an English club. Why not? We have shown in the past few seasons we can beat all the English clubs,” Firmino said. “Our record is good against them. We feel we have played well against the top English clubs and shown we can beat them.”
The Brazilian would be equally unconcerned if next Friday’s draw in Nyon handed them a date with either of Spain’s top clubs – Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Madrid joined Liverpool in the last eight on Tuesday by overcoming the well-fancied Paris Saint-Germain 5-2 on aggregate.
Barcelona, meanwhile, hold the upper hand in their tie against Chelsea after leaving the first leg at Stamford Bridge with an away goal in a 1-1 draw.
“We are not concerned who we get. We don’t mind. A top Spanish club? We are not afraid,” Firmino said. “I don’t think we have anything to fear from any side now.
“If you are in the draw [at this stage] then you can not be afraid of anyone. We feel we can beat any side on our day, and we don’t mind who we get. I think we are a team who will cause problems to others.”
The in-form 26-year-old added: “Of course they are good teams. They are all good teams [left in the draw], but I don’t think it matters to us.
“We are a good team, we can play against the big Spanish teams and we feel we can be a match for them. You have to play against the big teams.”
With City dominant in the Premier League and following an early elimination from the FA Cup, the Champions League trophy is the only piece of silverware that Liverpool can have any sort of desires on in these final months of the season.
Firmino, however, still hopes he and his team-mates will have something to show for the progress made at Anfield this season.
“Liverpool want to win a trophy,” he said. “We are all concentrating on that, and that is the aim at this stage. We are doing well in the Premier League and we want that to continue and we are now in the Champions’ League quarter final and we want that to continue.”
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