Liverpool remains unbeaten and there are no indications the club will be stopped on its tracks anytime soon. The consensus among pundits is the Reds will keep to their winning way and finish the season winner of the Champions League.
This week, Liverpool advanced to the Top 16 of the competition, and Andy Robertson is happy with the thought he is part of the team to beat in Europe. The club defender believes the competition will not want to face in the knockout phase, and it's all about respect.
It is a fact that with Jurgen Klopp as head coach, the defending champion has yet to taste defeat in the round of 16. Liverpool's opponents know they'd be facing a solid and fluid team, so if they can, they'd rather deal with a different club, Robertson said.
"That is the atmosphere we have created in the last two years... A team which has been to the final twice and we are respected in this tournament... We know we are respected in Europe. No one will want us but everyone who gets into the last 16 will fancy themselves," The Guardian reported the Liverpool left-back as saying.
With the way things are going, Robertson said his teammates appeared determined to take up the challenge of retaining the title they have won last June, and there is no sense of complacency with anyone.
"We know it will be tough but we look forward to the challenge as we want to go far in this tournament again and we have made a big step," the defender said.
Indeed, the season seems to agree with the Reds, and former Manchester United center-back Rio Ferdinand has boldly predicted that the European champions will not be disappointed in their title-defense efforts.
Ferdinand said Liverpool would top the league again, and that's because of the club's conviction. The Reds radiate a winning mentality, and that can be credited to hard work of the team's German manager, the pundit added.
"They've just got a mentality, once you win, they've been on the cusp of winning for a couple of years but they got over that line, they won the big one, the Champions League," Metro reported the former England international as saying.
He further observed that Liverpool is simply the complete team in the competition, and it can be seen that the players religiously adhere to a winning mantra.
"We're not going to lose this game, we're going to win," seemed to be the chant coming from the Reds when playing on the pitch, according to Ferdinand.
