Saturday, 30th August, 2014
Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard insists that the Reds can compete with Real Madrid after being drawn in the same Champions League group as the Spanish giants.
The Merseyside club have not competed in the Champions League since the 2009/10 campaign and have been placed with Real Madrid, Basel and Ludogorets Razgrad in Group B.
Liverpool are aiming to qualify from the group, but it is the double-header of games against European champions Real Madrid which has caught the eye, even if two victories over Basel and Ludogorets would make the meetings with Cristiano Ronaldo and co. less important.
"They were one of the sides that all of the players wanted, and certainly the supporters. The supporters can't wait to get over to Madrid and have a good time", Gerrard told his club's site.
"For us, it's a chance to go and compete against the best. We're not in this competition to make the numbers up, we're not celebrating and going out to enjoy this competition – we want to compete and go as far as we can.
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"So we're going to work as hard as we can and treat every team in the group the same. But, of course, it's going to be an exciting encounter when Real come to Anfield and also us going away as well. I can't wait for it.
"It's a chance for us to compete against some of the best players in the world, the likes of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema.
"These are all star names that come to your mind when you're trying to think of the group of best players in the world.
"We're quite a new team, so it's a great chance for our lads to compete and see how good we are and how far we've come. We've got a lot of respect for Real Madrid but we certainly have confidence we can compete with them."
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