‘Atletico are one of the toughest sides to face’ Andoni Iraola

Liverpool defender Jeremy Jacquet battles against Ipswich’s Emersonn during a recent English Premier League match. Pic/AFP

[popcorn number="Four" desc="No. of wins for Liverpool in nine games vs Atletico Madrid (two draws, three losses)" class="Default"]

English club Liverpool's boss Andoni Iraola believes his side's Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday will be a useful yardstick to gauge where they stand after a rocky start to their English Premier League campaign.

The Reds began the season with back to back 2-2 draws against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United, before a 2-0 win over Ipswich eased some pressure off Iraola. Considering their defence has looked shaky thus far, the Spanish coach expects them to endure a stern examination against the likes of Julian Alvarez, Alex Baena, and Kang-In Lee.

Andoni Iraola. Pic/AFP

"They are one of the toughest opponents we can face. Diego Simeone is doing an incredible job as a manager. Definitely he has much more experience than me in these kind of games. Atletico Madrid have lots of dynamism in terms of the attacking players, so it is difficult to tie them down at times because there is lots of rotation between their players. But we just need to play at our own pace and be proactive. Let's see where we are against a team like Atletico," said Iraola.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever