Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp admits he liked both Inter and Milan and defends Italian football: ‘When you get a Serie A team in the draw, you don’t start a party…’
Klopp’s Liverpool qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Inter 2-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16. The Nerazzurri’s 1-0 win over the Reds last night was not enough to get a spot in the Final eight of the competition.
Liverpool had already faced Milan in the group stage and Klopp was asked his thoughts on the Milanese side during his post-match press conference.
“Both teams were really good. Different set up I think. I really like Milan’s project with a mix of young and experienced players. I like how they approached the game, the way they played. Inter have a different setup, they are more experienced, their man-marking is really tough is difficult to play against them.
“I imagine that when the opponents sit deep, it may be a little bit more difficult for them, but in general, both teams are exceptional. If anyone talks about the quality of Italian football, nobody has ever met the top 4-5. Even Atalanta gave us a proper game here. We don’t have to talk about it, then Napoli, we played quite often against them, to be honest.
“If you get an Italian team in a draw, you don’t start a party immediately. I think, ‘Oh God, that’s hard work,’ at it was hard work.
“Inter are a really good football team. How they set up, we know it a little bit from the league from Leeds under Bielsa, just with much more quality. That makes it really tricky to play against them.”
So, who’s the favourite to win the title in Italy?
“I don’t want to cause any problem,” said Klopp smiling.
“I liked Milan and we should not forget about Juve and Napoli, as I’ve already said. I have no idea who will be the Italian champion. To become a champion in any country, you need quality and these teams have quality, you also need to be lucky with injuries. I will follow, but it’s not my first thought.”
Klopps fake teeth are really something else.
I like Klopp, I think he’s a good guy and a great coach but its kinda sad that he has to sit there and try to convince people how good serie a teams are, kinda like patting your little brother on the head after drubbing him then telling him he’ok get bigger and better
SL, seria a won the european championship. i dont think they have to proove anyhting to aynone.
The English media believe their own hype about the EPL it seems.
@ Luigi 👍
sammy ibrahim they did that but may not qualify for wc,serie a is poor and doesn’t have stadiums,that said it is better than it was 3-4 years ago
Would be interesting to see Klopp in a Serie A dugout
Ok Samy, you realize serie a has nothing to do with Italy winning the Euros!