REAL MADRID are braced for a Liverpool revenge mission in the Champions League quarter-finals tonight.
Defender Nacho reckons Jurgen Klopp’s side want payback for the 2018 final, when Mo Salah was forced off injured by Sergio Ramos’ challenge just 30 minutes into the Reds’ 3-1 defeat.
Nacho insisted: “Not only Salah wants to beat us because of Ramos — everyone will want to do it.
“At Real Madrid, we live with pressure and we know how to take it.
“From when we played in the 2018 final, we have lost Cristiano Ronaldo but there is not much difference. But we are super competitive and playing really well.”
Liverpool boss Klopp admitted he was furious with the way Ramos wrestled Salah to the ground, leaving the Egyptian needing shoulder surgery.
Klopp last night tried to play down the incident in Kiev three years ago but revealed: “When I got the draw, of course I remembered the game.
“A month or so later after that game, someone asked me whether I would invite Sergio Ramos to my 60th birthday — and I said no.
“It is not as though Ramos is not a great player but I did not like what happened that night.
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“For us, it was a strange night but it was a long time ago and I cannot get that feeling back or the anger.
“I am trying to prepare my team to show how good we are as a football team in a strange season.
“We are not after revenge. I don’t believe in revenge but it would be nice to get through.”
Ramos, along with former Chelsea star Eden Hazard, are both out of the first leg in Madrid due to injury.
Klopp, whose team have won their last three matches, added: “Our team is built for these kind of games.
“I hear everyone in Madrid saying Real are favourites. Great, we are fine with that.
“I am not so determined to show the world how good we are but I want to show our fans we are still fighting.”
In-form forward Diogo Jota said: “I am scoring a good amount of goals and that is what I want to do against Real. We have good momentum.”
Portuguese star Jota spent two seasons at Atletico Madrid but did not appear for them and instead played on loan at Porto before joining Wolves.
He added: “I signed for Atletico but did not play in any official games, so I know they are a rival of Real but I did not have the time to feel the rivalry.
“I just want to win the game for Liverpool.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
