Jurgen Klopp has held meetings with Liverpool's players to warn them against falling into the traps Atletico Madrid will set to disrupt them in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg. The Liverpool manager withdrew Sadio Mane at half-time in the first leg as he was concerned the Senegal forward would react to heavy treatment and receive a red card.
Atletico's players surrounded referee Szymon Marciniak that evening, asking for action against Mane, and Klopp expects similar pressure as the Spaniards, holding a 1-0 lead, attempt to knock the reigning champions out. 'We expect a really experienced performance from Atletico, let me say that. In all different departments experienced but we have to deal with that,' said Klopp.
Klopp called for his players to keep their heads and take Atletico to places 'they don't want to be' as Liverpool seek to overturn the deficit. He added: 'You need always a referee who is aware of situations like this, we cannot do it by ourselves. We have no influence over that. We have to deal with it.'
Andy Robertson, who experienced Atletico's gamesmanship first hand in the first leg, will return to the starting line-up after missing Saturday's 2-1 win over Bournemouth. He said: 'We need to be focused on our game and we can't get annoyed at things we can't control. We need to stay clear and calm in our heads.'
