Jamie Carragher has stated that he would like Liverpool to be pitted against FC Porto for their round of 16 Champions League tie.
The former centre-back added that Liverpool have played Porto on a number of occasions before and ‘we always seem to have an edge on them’, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (02/11/22 at 10:55 pm).
For the first set of knockout games in the Champions League, you can’t play a team from your nation, or a team that has just been in your group.
So, for the Reds, that rules out all three Premier League teams that qualified – Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham – whilst it also means they won’t have to face Serie A high-flyers, Napoli, any time soon.
Whilst things continue to go wrong for Jurgen Klopp’s side on the domestic circuit, it’s a different story on the European stage.
Carragher thinks, when the players return post-World Cup, then Liverpool will return ‘back to their best’, as well as possibly adding a midfielder to their ranks.
“I would go Liverpool to play Porto,” said Carragher. “We have played them a few times in the past. I think, psychologically, we always seem to have the edge on them.
“I think Liverpool will be a different proposition for anybody after Christmas. They aren’t at the races, right now. I think we will see Liverpool back to their best.
“I hope so (Liverpool getting another midfielder by then) and the fact that it’s in Istanbul, so as I said last year, I can feel it.”
ISTANBUL AWAITS…
For some, they would say that it’s written in the stars for Liverpool to be in Turkey on June 10 for the Champions League final in Istanbul.
It was perhaps the scene of Liverpool’s greatest-ever night in their littered and trophy-laden history in 2005 when they created history against AC Milan.
Back then, the Reds missed out on a top-four finish in the Premier League to Everton, but they booked their Champions League ticket for the following campaign by winning the whole lot.
Well, given how things are going for them in the Premier League this season, then they might need to go down that road again.
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