Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer has insisted that it does not matter who the Reds face in the last 16 of the Champions League as they are not frightened of anyone in Europe at the moment.
The defending European champions have made it to the last 16 of the Champions League by topping their group following a 2-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg away from home.
Liverpool shocked Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals last season when they clawed their way back from a 3-0 first-leg defeat to beat the Catalan giants 4-0 at Anfield.
They are one of the most feared outfits of Europe at the moment and McAteer feels there is little to no value attached in Liverpool being group winners as they are not frightened of facing anyone going forward.
He insisted that Merseyside giants are one of the top three teams in Europe at the moment and it does not matter who they are drawn against in the last 16.
McAteer said on LFC TV after the win in Salzburg when asked about the importance of being group winners: “I've got to be honest, I don’t [see the importance].
“I am looking at last season, we finished second in the group and it didn’t bother us at all.
“I think we have got no one to be frightened of. We belong now at the top.
“We are in that bracket of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
“I’d fancy Real Madrid at the minute, Barcelona are in slight transition and Bayern Munich are sitting seventh [in the Bundesliga].
“There is no one I fear.”
Liverpool could come up against big European teams such as Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund or Real Madrid in the last 16.
