"It will be really tough" - Jurgen Klopp makes claim about Liverpool ahead of Manchester City clash

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has said that his team will face the 'best team in the world', ahead of their Premier League clash with Manchester City.

Liverpool registered a 3-1 win over Benfica in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Reds manager said that his team will give their all to challenge Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

With only one point separating the two teams at the top of the EPL table, the most anticipated clash could be a precursor to the eventual winner.

The Liverpool manager has challenged his players to put up their best showing when they face Manchester City this weekend. Klopp believes that his team has a chance of beating Manchester City if they remain organized and execute what they have been doing since the start of the season. However, Klopp added that a win at Etihad would still not make them the favorites to win the EPL title.

Speaking after the comfortable win over Benfica, Jurgen Klopp spoke about the weekend clash against Manchester City. He said:

“If we win against Man City, which is already difficult enough, I think no-one would think: 'That's it, it is decided.’ That is because of the quality of the opponent. We play now against the best team in the world, but we will give it a try anyway. That is what we must.''

He added:

“So what we did in the last few months, six, seven or eight months since the season started we created a basis. We are in the quarter-final, the semi-final and the further you go in competitions the harder it gets. That’s unfortunately the truth.”

Klopp said that his team is working out their plans game-by-game as every tie gets tougher once the team reaches the knockout stage of the tournament. He added:

“You barely reach a final and face a team where you win 8-0. Since late December it was clear if we want to win something we had better win all our games. This is not realistic we know, but that's why we take it game by game.''

---

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane becomes the highest goal-scorer in UCL knockout games since 2017-18 season

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane has become the highest goal scorer in the knockout stages of the Champions League since the 2017-18 season.

The 29-year-old Senegalese international has scored 13 goals in the knockout stages of UCL since 2017-18. He scored the second goal for Liverpool against Benfica in the UCL quarterfinals after firing his national team into the 2022 FIFA World Cup by beating Egypt.