The Champions League last-16 has thrown together European football titans Liverpool and Real Madrid in a replay of last season's final in Paris.
The first leg of the tie is at Anfield on Tuesday and as Reds manager Jurgen Klopp trained with his squad on Monday and he will have been plotting revenge for that narrow defeat in the French capital.
In a closely fought battle in Paris, Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois pulled off a string of brilliant saves to keep Ancelotti's side in the game before Vinicius Junior clinched a 1-0 win to hand the Spanish side their 14th European Cup.
Liverpool, six-time winners of the trophy, also lost to Madrid in the 2018 final.
Klopp's team have struggled in the Premier League this season – they are in eighth place – after falling just short in their pursuit of a historic quadruple last time out.
They bagged both the FA and League Cups but just missed out to Manchester City in the Premier League before their near miss in the Champions League.
But the Anfield outfit have started to turn their form around and, after taking just one point from a possible 12 in the league, they beat Everton and Newcastle in their most recent games.
Klopp is optimistic that things are starting to click for his side. “We looked a lot more like a team again,” said Klopp after the recent victories, “but we still need results.”
New signing Cody Gakpo scored his first goal in those games and is eager to prove himself against Real Madrid.
“It’s going to be my second game in the Champions League so I’m really looking forward to it,” Gakpo said.
“I have to prove that I can perform at such a level again and I’m eager to do that. It’s a dream for every football player to play in this competition and for me, to have that opportunity, it’s a great one.”
You can see photos of the Liverpool player training for the game in the gallery above. To move to the next photo, click on the arrows or swipe if using a mobile device.
