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Jurgen Klopp had a spring in his step at the Estadio do Dragao.

How both Liverpool and their manager have missed nights like these.

"It's cool to be here," Klopp said.

"You feel it when you come to the press conference. Usually I don't like it but in a press conference in the Champions League I think it's a little bit nicer.

"It's all there. It's really exciting and we are facing a strong side. I met Iker Casillas a few minutes ago and you think: 'Oh yes! The goalkeeper is not too bad!'

"It feels good, everything is good. The planes are better, the stadiums and cities are better, the food is better, pretty much everything in the Champions League is better!"

For Liverpool, Wednesday night's last 16 first leg represents their first knockout tie in the competition since 2009.

It's another milestone in Klopp's reign and he believes the Reds have already sent out "quite a message" to their continental rivals having topped Group E in style.

Now he's hungry for more. Having already beaten Champions League favourites Manchester City, he believes Liverpool are capable of holding their own against anyone left in the competition.

"Usually last 16 doesn't sound too good in a lot of competitions but in the Champions League it's quite a message already," he said.

"There are so many good football teams around who want to be in the competition still and we are in it so that's cool.

(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

"Now we have to show we don't only want to be part of the competition, we are quite ambitious. That's how it is. You have to take it round by round.

"Probably the strongest team in Europe at the minute is Manchester City. We've played them twice and that's highest level.

"PSG is a little bit different but I don't look at them, I only know it already that if we meet them we could beat them. That's how it is but it's not important. We are here in Porto and that's the only thing that matters."

Klopp has no time for the idea that the draw did the Reds a favour by pitting them against the Portuguese Primeira Liga leaders rather than the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Juventus.

There's no room for complacency at this level. Sergio Conceicao's side are unbeaten domestically all season and in Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar they boast a 26-goal marksman.

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Klopp said: "We can make one big mistake in life. Of course, we as a team would never do that, but I know when the draw came out it was like: 'Thank God, Porto.'

"Now it's Porto and it's quite a hurdle, a nice hill we have to go over. It's interesting. It will be a special atmosphere as well and I'm really looking forward to it.

"This is our draw. It's a difficult job to do for both teams. Porto is really strong, very experienced, very aggressive, very physical, but we are good as well so it will be an interesting game."

Klopp's European pedigree is impressive. He led Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final in 2013 and the highlight of his first season at Anfield was a remarkable run to the Europa League final.

(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

He believes his current crop possess sufficient quality to enjoy another memorable adventure and says it's down to him to get the best out of them.

"It's the biggest club competition and my experience taught me the better the side you have, the bigger the chances to go in the next round and we have quite a good football team," Klopp said.

"I cannot score the goals or whatever. I think we will be in the right mood. The last few weeks were not easy for us, but we kept going all the time.

"It was a long break between the group stage and now, but from after the Moscow game when it was clear we were through we have been waiting for this moment.

"The song before the game, when you hear it at home you think I want to be part of that. When you hear it in the stadium, you think I'm part of that. It's cool.

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"We were quite comfortable because of playing good football through the group stage and now we are here in the last 16 it's fantastic.

"We will have the best team that we can line up. It is not about who we play it is about how we play and what we do."

With the second leg to come at Anfield, there's no need for Liverpool to take unnecessary risks in a hostile environment. It's about being solid and compact, and backing the likes of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino to do some damage on the counter.

"We need to stick to the way we want to play," Klopp added. "In difficult situations you have to make the right decisions. You have to cause them problems, problems and problems. Problems they don’t know about.

"It can happen to us as well because we never played against each other. I think they are a fantastic team.

(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

"In this football world it is not easy to surprise another team and if you ask me, I would like us to be the team with the biggest appetite and desire. That doesn’t mean we go through but it is really important for us to show it.

"We need a result which gives us the opportunity to make the decisive difference at Anfield. Whatever it is we have to take it and work with it.

"We know that Anfield can be a real power so let’s try to get the best result we can get."