John Arne Riise says Liverpool 'can go all the way' in the Champions League
Monday 9 April 2018 08:22, UK
John Arne Riise believes the quality of Liverpool's win over Manchester City showed they can win the Champions League .
Liverpool delivered Pep Guardiola's City their biggest defeat in more than a year last week, taking full control of their quarter-final with an emphatic 3-0 first-leg win at Anfield.
Riise told Sky Sports the tie was still in the balance, but that the quality of that first leg showed how Jurgen Klopp can take his side all the way - 13 years after he was on the winning side in the club's famous penalty shoot-out final win over Milan in 2005.
"This year, although it's going to be very tight, they have a good chance of going all the way," he said. "You have the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid and Bayern still there, and they have to go through against City.
"There's some great teams left but if they play like they did at Anfield on Wednesday there's not many teams who could stop them.
"All the other teams left will have seen that performance, it was amazing. The high pressure, the intensity in the game was unbelievable, they almost did it for 90 minutes. Liverpool proved if they are at the top of their game, they can beat anyone.
"A club like Liverpool should always be in the quarter-finals, semi-finals of the Champions League and competing with the best clubs in the world.
"I think the fans have been waiting for it, the players the same, it's the best competition for a player to be involved in and you want to try to give something back to the fans when you get there.
"I'm happy for Klopp. They expect a lot, and now he's proven he can bring the club back to the Champions League."
A Liverpool goal at the Etihad on Tuesday night will leave City needing to score five to progress, which Riise thinks will work in the Reds' favour.
And he said keeping the hosts at bay in the opening stages would be their primary objective, while keeping up the high-pressing which decimated Guardiola's game plan so ably at Anfield.
"City lost against Liverpool, they lost against United, Liverpool have a habit of always scoring," Riise said. "It's important for City not to concede, because they will have to score five then.
"I think Liverpool will go through, because they've got that 3-0 lead, but the game is not over. We've seen what City can do. If they start playing as they have most of the season, keeping the ball and scoring goals, it could be a close game.
"They're good at counter attacks, which is going to be very important, and I think the main thing is not to concede a goal in the first 15-20 minutes.
"The players and the club have to go into the game like any other. Probably more compact than usual, but if they get too comfortable, and City score a goal they will get nervous again."
