Former "Liverpool" club player John Barnes believes that Jurgen Klopp's squad may need to put in more effort to overcome the barrier of Madrid's "Atletico" team this year than last year, when they overturned a three-goal deficit against "Barcelona".
The "Liverpool" club lost 0:1 to "Atletico" in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The result is not tragic, but J. Barnes thinks that the visitors from Madrid are difficult to break down defensively.
"It is obvious that "Atletico" and "Barcelona" have two different styles of play," the 56-year-old Englishman told "Sky Sports". "It can be said that "Barcelona" is a better team than "Atletico", but not when the game focuses on defense."
"They have no problem holding 20% ball possession and focusing on defense. That's exactly what Simeone's team does best."
"Barcelona's failure at Anfield was a big shock, but I think it will be even harder against Atletico," Barnes added.
The second leg match between "Liverpool" and "Atletico" will take place on March 11th.
