On how different the approach will be both in terms of tactics and attitude in comparison to the first leg…
I don’t know if a lot has been said about that because I had to focus on Fulham and now Paris Saint-Germain again, but usually in football I know how it works that if you change the system the focus is completely on the system, and not about what is actually happening. People find it probably very hard to believe what I am going to say now, but the approach is not so different for tomorrow than it was in Paris – for the people who know me, I never put out a team and tell them to go to a low block for 90 minutes.
Actually, if you really looked at the game back you could see that we have pressed them high on multiple, multiple, multiple occasions. Unfortunately, seven or eight of those moments led to them being one-on-one to our goalkeeper. So, again, the approach tomorrow will be to take the risk – because that’s, first of all, what we need – but to get the ball off them you need to press them, and we saw how difficult it is to press these players. But that was the same last season and Anfield did make a big difference for us last season, and I am expecting it to make a big difference for us tomorrow as well.
On his selection plans…
I think we have to find the perfect balance between being offensive. But to be offensive you need to have the ball and to get the ball back, you’re now mentioning two full-backs but against all these other players you have to do so many things well before your attackers can attack. So, that’s why the history of this club and at other clubs you’ve seen players that are very good offensively but are also able to do the defensive job, because the only way to score is if you have the ball.
The thing is that tomorrow two teams are facing each other [and] both would like to have the ball a lot. The last time we faced each other, they had the ball for 76 per cent of the time, so that’s the first thing we have to change tomorrow – to have the ball more. And if we have it more then it’s nice to have attacking threat on the pitch and that’s what we will have tomorrow.
On whether Rio Ngumoha is ‘someone who could cope with these types of games’…
Yeah, I think he can. First of all, because of his personality. He doesn’t get distracted that soon. I think everyone who knows his history a bit more, there’s a lot of expectation around him for many years already and he’s always been able to focus on football, to become better, to become stronger, to become ready at 16 years of age to score your first goals, 17 years of age and already had multiple starts for the first team of Liverpool. That’s one thing.
And second of all, because of his quality. He shows that he’s able at the highest level – which is Champions League but Premier League definitely is this as well – to be able to take one-v-ones on and make it difficult for the defenders he’s facing. I think he’s done a very good job in managing what comes to him now. But then it’s also a good thing to have so many experienced players around you, which he has in the dressing room.