Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has revealed why he believes Liverpool are such a difficult opponent to play.
Jurgen Klopp’s side ended a 30-year wait for the Premier League title on Thursday as they were confirmed as champions due to Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City.
The crown, though, had been in their hands for a long while before the outcome of that clash at Stamford Bridge, with the Reds having dropped points in only three fixtures to date this season, posting only one defeat in that time.
Suarez, who played for the club from 2011-2014, has felt first hand the oppressive quality of the Merseyside outfit, having been on the wrong end of a 4-0 defeat to them with Barca in the Champions League semi-finals last season – a result that incredibly turned around a 3-0 first-leg deficit.
Given the mental fortitude that Liverpool showed as goals from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum, who netted two each, eliminated the Catalans, it is perhaps unsurprising that he picked that out as their outstanding strength when speaking to the club’s official website.
Asked why Klopp’s men are such a formidable opponent, he explained: “I think the mentality of the players is so important on the pitch. We arrived in Liverpool 3-0 up, but when you play there they have the supporters and the manager, and the players are so focused and concentrated on the pitch. It’s difficult.
“They scored in the first 10 or 15 minutes and they got the confidence to continue their play. In the second half they played fantastically. We need to accept that and if we’d have scored one goal, we would have had a really good chance to go through, but I think they are really good players.”
The Uruguay international forward, who helped the club to the League Cup of 2012 and was a member of the squad that came within a whisker of winning the title in 2014, is far from the first to praise the character of Klopp’s side.
Chairman Tom Werner had previously hailed the former Dortmund boss on the club’s website, stating: “He has just created such an atmosphere at Liverpool that there's no alternative except to win. He has created such an atmosphere.”
Liverpool have seven matches of the league season remaining as a victory lap, including a clash with dethroned champions Manchester City next weekend.