Jurgen Klopp admits he is concerned by the state of the pitch for the Champions League final.
The Stade de France’s new playing surface was only laid in the early hours of Thursday, less than 72 hours before Liverpool and Real Madrid will do battle.
Ground staff in Paris are heavily watering the turf in efforts to have it well prepared for this season’s showpiece of Europe’s elite club competition.
But while Klopp acknowledges the situation is less than ideal, he is refusing to blame it should his side fail in their quest to become continental champions.
“Usually when I say the pitch looks new, that is good news,” said the German.
“This pitch is new since yesterday, which is not the best news.
“But it will be the same for both teams. I saw the refs and the good news is the ball drops normally.
“That someone thought it was a good idea to bring the pitch the day before to the stadium is interesting.
“But it didn’t kill my mood one per cent. I am really happy we are here.
“I would have played the game on a petanque.”
He added: “Both teams are technical and you would wish in a dream world that the pitch is the best you ever saw.
“That’s obviously not the case. You will hear the same from Carlo Ancelotti.
“Definitely, if you win you don’t care about the pitch – that is easy to say.
“I don’t know how bad or good it is, I only just saw it.
“Maybe it’s perfect but it looks not perfect.”