Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers knows facing 10-times European
champions Real Madrid at Anfield is going to be a special night for the club.
The Merseyside outfit are back in the UEFA Champions League
after a five-year absence and have been paired with the holders, Swiss side
Basel and Bulgarian newcomers Ludogorets in Group B.
Liverpool will face Real in back-to-back meetings in the middle
of their campaign, with the Spanish giants travelling to Anfield on Wednesday,
October 22 for Matchday Three before the return in the Bernabeu on Tuesday,
November 4.
"To be back in it again, no matter who we were going to
play, it was always going to be exciting,” Rodgers told the club’s official
website.
“But to have Real
Madrid in your group, the champions last season, is going to be special.
"I'm already thinking of Anfield on that night. But there
are two other good teams in it along with us.
“It's a tough group but we'll really look forward to the
challenge of getting out of the group."
Rodgers insists his
only focus now is on progressing from the group with his backroom staff
beginning preparations for the meetings with Real, Basel and the more unknown
quantity of Ludogorets.
He added: "The notion for us was to get out of the group
stage - we can look no further than that.
"It was great excitement and hopefully it was great for the
supporters to sit and watch the draw for the first time in five years.
"Now we know
the teams that we're playing, we'll focus to get out of the group. That's as
far as you can look. Once you get out of the group stages, you take it from
there.
"Preparation will start straight away. Some of the teams
we're well aware of; we watch the likes of Real Madrid nearly every week and we
know their players.
"But as soon as the draw is finalised, the work and the
focus will be on that. We have our analysis team behind the scenes who will do
all the preparation work we need for our opponents. It will be exciting for
them as well."
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