Emre Can has hailed Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane as a ‘world-class player’.
The pair played starring roles as the Reds comprehensively saw off Hoffenheim to book their place in the Champions League’s group stages.
Mane’s return to competitive action following a knee injury in April saw Liverpool take four points from their opening two Premier League games.
But the Senegalese forward’s influence was most felt in the 6-3 aggregate win over Hoffenheim on Wednesday as he played a role in several of the goals.
Can was one of the beneficiaries of Mane’s interplay and feels that the former Southampton man is continually improving as his Anfiled career progresses
He said: “Sadio is a world-class player. He has so many qualities.
“He’s a very strong player, he’s a very quick player, he’s always scoring goals and creating chances for the team.
“He’s also a really good guy. His performance against Hoffenheim was brilliant. I am very happy to have him as a team-mate.
“You could say he’s made a big step forward during his time here.
“There are so many options with the front three we have. There is always a pass.
“They are quick and always moving into space. You can always play the ball to them and it’s so nice to play with them.
“Sadio, (Mohamed) Salah, (Roberto) Firmino, everyone. It was such a fantastic start. It’s brilliant to play with them.
“We played so well and created so many chances in that opening 30 minutes.
“We can still do better. In the last 15 minutes of the first half I don’t think we defended that good. We still need to improve.
“But the most important thing is that we’re playing Champions League football this season.”
Can also believes that none of the cointinent’s elite clubs will want to be drawn with Liverpool in the Champions League.
Thursday’s group stage draw could see Jurgen Klopp’s side pitted against, among others, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
However Germany international Can expects Liverpool to be a more feared prospect this time around following their meek exit in the 2014/15 season.
“The big teams will want to avoid Liverpool,” he insisted.
“Everyone knows we are a very strong side. They will have seen what we did against Hoffenheim.
“I don’t have any preference [on who Liverpool draw].
“We know that we will play against big teams but I don’t care who we get.”