Jurgen Klopp has hailed Liverpool’s Champions League group the ‘strongest’ in his time as manager.
Wednesday’s Group B campaign kicks off with the Reds welcoming AC Milan before taking on familiar recent opposition in Atletico Madrid and Porto.
The Serie A giants’ trip to Anfield, a rematch of the 2005 and 2007 finals, will also herald their seven-year wait to return to Europe’s elite club competition.
And Klopp admits he is relishing the prospect of his side going toe-to-toe with genuine continental heavyweights in their quest to reach the knockout stage.
He said: “This is the strongest group we have had since I am at Liverpool, no doubt about that.
“In 2013 at Dortmund we had a real Champions League group as well.
“We had Man City, Real Madrid and Ajax, which was a proper group where people said: ‘Oh my God, how will we get through?’
“This is a proper group as well.
“What does it do for the competition? It kicks out two really good teams from the knockout stages and it will deliver one really strong football team into the Europa League as well, that’s for sure.
“I never understand when people talk about changes to the Champions League. It is just not my thing.
“I like it how it is and this group obviously shows that there are no games where people think: ‘Do I really want to watch that?’
“This group will be exciting from the first second to the last second. Nothing will be decided early in this group.
“That keeps us on our toes and in between these games we have a very important competition as well, playing Premier League and League Cup, then hopefully the FA Cup later in the season.
“But it’s exactly what we wanted. We play Milan, Atletico, Porto: unbelievable stadiums, great crowds, passionate fanbases.
“It’s exactly how you want football. Now we got it, so let’s deal with it.”