Liverpool will come with ‘with a very different mindset’, warns Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk

ISTANBUL – Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk believes Liverpool will approach their Champions League last-16 clash on March 10 “with a very different mindset” than their league-phase encounter.

The English champions lost 1-0 to Galatasaray in Istanbul on Sept 30 and will return to the Turkish capital on March 10 for the first leg of their knockout clash.

The loss in Turkey was one of just two league-phase losses for the Reds, who won their six other Champions League matches.

“They played a match here, they played in this stadium. They know us better, we know them. In the group stage, they only lost to Galatasaray and PSV (Eindhoven). So I think they will be more careful against us,” said Buruk on March 9.

“If you get through these last-16 matches and three more rounds after that, you go to the Champions League final. That’s why this is very important for every team.

“Looking at Liverpool’s situation in the league, the Champions League is a much more important motivation for them. I think they will try to come here with a very different mindset than in the group matches.”

The Reds’ mindset might be different but they are expecting the same deafening treatment at the Ali Sami Yen, famed as one of the more hostile stadiums in Europe.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said: “Our ears will be tested again. It’s going to be a very difficult game.”

His manager Arne Slot added: “The whole atmosphere makes it completely different from any other away game I’ve ever played. So it’s every time when we had the ball, the noise, the whistling is that hard that sometimes you wonder if this could be done by human people.”

Buruk highlighted the importance of exploiting their Ali Sami Yen advantage, saying: “The first leg is the most important one. There are big teams – 16 big teams – on the same path as us and we all have a chance to progress. Our goal is to gain the advantage in the first match against Liverpool...

“It is important that we finish the first match in the best position possible.”

Liverpool’s English Premier League title defence collapsed during a horrific run of results from late September and they face a battle even to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

The Reds sit sixth in the league, outside the Champions League places, after a 2-1 loss to bottom dwellers Wolverhampton Wanderers on March 3. Slot’s side are 19 points behind league leaders Arsenal, who have played a game more.

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock last week said he did not expect Slot to be in the Anfield dugout next season, saying on the BBC: “It’s a big ask for them to get a Champions League place. It’s going to be very difficult. They’re so inconsistent that I don’t see them winning every game until the end of the season. It’s going to be very difficult for him to stay in charge.”

A deep run in the Champions League would be a major boost for Slot, who has come under fire from frustrated fans during Liverpool’s slump.

Significantly, German playmaker Florian Wirtz made his return from a back injury as a late substitute in the 3-1 FA Cup win over Wolves on March 6, while Slot played down concerns over Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister after the World Cup winner limped off.

Galatasaray held off Juventus in the play-off round, after winning 5-2 at home in the first leg and then losing 3-2 after extra time in the return.

They lead the Turkish Super Lig and won 1-0 at Istanbul rivals Besiktas on March 7, with Victor Osimhen scoring the goal – his 18th of the season, with seven coming in Europe.

Buruk, however, chided his players after that match, claiming they were distracted by the big European clash.

He had said: “They were all talking about the Liverpool match before the derby game against Besiktas, which was a very important match in its own right.” AFP