Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini has reserved high praise for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool FC side that are drawn in the same Champions’ League group as the Serie A giants, with Gasperini terming the Reds to be an ‘extraordinary’ team, judging by the success accumulated by Klopp’s men over the last couple of years.
Gasperini’s side exceeded all expectations in last season’s Champions League campaign, when the Italian outfit managed to reach the quarter-finals of Europe’s most elite club competition, only to suffer a heartbreaking loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
However, following their debut appearance in the Champions League being a profound success, by all means, the Atalanta coach asserted that his side would no longer be in a position to stage a similar kind of fairytale ride over the course of the tournament, especially when they are drawn into the same group as the 2018-19 Champions League winners, Liverpool FC.
“Liverpool are an extraordinary team. They won the Champions League two years ago and last season they dominated the Premier League,” Gasperini said, according to reports from Bein Sports.
“They are one of the best teams in the world and it’s going to be very difficult against them, as it was against Manchester City.
“I always said that in this sort of game we need to learn as much experience as we can, despite the need to get results.
“Obviously we hope to do well, as we did against City. Our goal is to come out from Liverpool’s games with more knowledge of what it means to face the best teams in the world.
Besides Atalanta, the Anfield giants will also face a tough competitor in Ajax in the group stages of the Champions League, a competition in which Liverpool FC will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last season’s two-legged loss to Atletico Madrid.
The Merseyside club are set to commence their European campaign away at home to Ajax on October 21 and have recently announced their 24-man squad for the competition.
