Luis Díaz could be key for Jürgen Klopp in the Champions League quarterfinals against Benfica

The Champions League draw defined the matches that will take place in the quarterfinals. Luis Díaz's Liverpool will face Benfica, a team that the Colombian winger knows well for its time in Porto. Something that did not go unnoticed by Jürgen Klopp who sees this as an advantage to qualify for the semifinals.

At a press conference, the coach spoke about the key in which he will face the Portuguese team on April 5 in the first leg and the 13th in the second leg. A match that could be key for the reds that, following their most recent Emirates Stadium win against Arsenal, ranks second in the Premier League standings just one point behind Manchester City.

Regarding the confrontation that will take place in Lisbon, Klopp said that, “I know that people will say that we are the favorites and things like that, but that is already the first mistake you could make. We've been in business too long to make these kinds of mistakes. I really respect what they are doing there, Benfica is a massive club. Lisbon, a great city, also spent my last week off on vacation there, so that is also a nice memory. I was sitting in an outdoor cafe, I got the call and we made the decision in Lisbon.”

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The German coach reiterated that there is no easy series in the Champions League, so he does not want his team to be trusted as there have been several cases where some clubs have been surprised. He also revealed that he has a nice memory of Lisbon since it was in this city that he made the decision to sign with Liverpool in 2015, while he was on vacation.

Liverpool has several keys to face Benfica in the Champions League, one of those could be Luis Díaz, who played three seasons in Portugal and played several times against the Lisbon club, Diogo Jota, who played in Pacos de Ferreira and Porto. There are also some workers from his coaching staff who were in the Portuguese club, so it could present an advantage when planning the match.

“It's great to know, now the preparation begins. Obviously we have some guys with history in Porto, also in my coaching staff, so maybe there's a bit of a classic feel, if you want. It's great, absolutely great and I can't wait,” said Klopp.

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Recall that during his time in Porto, Luis Díaz faced Liverpool six times, four matches for the Portuguese League, where he won two and tied the other two, one for the Portuguese Cup and once in the final of the Portuguese Super Cup where the 'Dragao' team won by two to zero; the Colombian scored the last goal of that match at 90′.

Before the qualifying date, Liverpool will face Nottingham Forest for the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, a match in which according to Klopp's statements, Diaz could start again against the loss of Mohamed Salah, who would have suffered a blow to the foot during the last match against Arsenal.

“Trent Alexander-Arnold is out because of a problem, so he won't be able to be with the England National Team either. It's not good news, we'll see how long it takes. Mo Salah also resented one foot a little after the game against Arsena l,” said the German coach.

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