Liverpool defender Joel Matip has revealed to talkSPORT some of his Reds teammates are out for revenge against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The European giants will do battle again, but this time in the last-16 stage, in a repeat of the 2018 and 2022 finals – and Matip insists they ‘will not hide’ as they aim for victory.
Liverpool will head into this game at Anfield looking to reset the balance having lost both those finals to Los Blancos.
The English and Spanish clubs have met a total of nine times in the competition, with Real winning five, Liverpool winning three and the rivals only drawing once. They also met in one other final in 1981, which was won by Liverpool in Paris.
But the recent final defeats will be fresh in many of the current players’ minds, most certainly last season where they were separated by Vinicius Jr’s only goal of the game.
It was a particularly sore result for Liverpool given they had dominated the goalscoring chances, and were only kept from running away with the game by a Man-of-the-Match performance from Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, while the Spanish giants scored with their only shot on target.
That defeat set the tone for this current campaign, with Jurgen Klopp’s side appearing to feel the effects of their failed quadruple attempt.
However, after months of inconsistent performances, it appears the Reds have their confidence back following a run of back-to-back victories over Everton and Newcastle.
And Matip insists they are heading into this match with only one thing in their minds – getting the win.
“This week gave us the confidence to keep on going and get back to the way we played before, so hopefully it will be like this [against Real Madrid],” Matip said in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT host Jim White.
“Hopefully we can show in both competitions our quality. Of course the Champions League is always something special, but we want to show both here in the Premier League and the Champions League our best sides, and we will be ready.”
Asked if their recent defeats to Real Madrid have given the Liverpool players an extra incentive to beat them in the last-16, Matip admitted he doesn’t need any more motivation to win – but admits some of his teammates might feel differently.
“I think to win a game against them is motivation enough, but the past, if it helps you as a player, you can use it,” the Reds centre-back added.
“For me, I just want to get to the next round, I don’t care who our opponent is, I just want to get through and I will do everything for this.
“Maybe for some of our players it will help to get a little bit of payback.
“But, for me, I just want to go to the next round. It could be any team and I would still go there with all I had.
“Everybody knows Real Madrid, the largest club, but nevertheless we are Liverpool and we will not hide. We will go for the win, especially at Anfield, and I’m very confident that we can win here.
“Everybody is looking forward to this game as we will not hide.
“We know our quality, we know our strengths, of course we also know our opponent, but still – we are Liverpool.”
