Luis Garcia has urged Liverpool not to be complacent ahead of their Champions League semi-final with Roma, but believes Jurgen Klopp’s side can beat anyone.
After surging past Manchester City in the quarter-finals Liverpool are just 180 minutes away from their eighth European Cup final appearance.
But Garcia, who was part of the club’s last Champions League winning side in 2005, warns the current crop they must not get carried away ahead of two legs against Roma.
Luis Garcia has urged Liverpool not to be complacent when they face Roma this week
The Spaniard though has backed his former side to claim a sixth European Cup in Kiev
He told Sportsmail: ‘I would say if I was there (in the dressing room), don’t be happy at all because you got the draw (Roma).
‘They know it’s going to be difficult, so the most important thing is to hold the anxiety and don’t see yourself in the final already.’
The Spaniard though, whose crucial goals against Juventus and Chelsea helped Rafa Benitez’s side into the Istanbul final 13 years ago, believes his former side can reach next month’s final in Kiev.
‘The club should be very proud of what Liverpool has become right now.
Garcia believes Liverpool can beat anybody after their quarter-final win over Manchester City
But he has urged Jurgen Klopp’s side not to get carried away ahead of two legs against Roma
‘I’m not trying to be disrespectful to Roma, they showed how well they can play with who they put away, but Liverpool have a big chance against anybody. Right now they have fantastic momentum.
‘If you can beat the Premier League winners, winning two legs 3-0 and 2-1, you can beat anybody.
‘(Mohamed) Salah is in an amazing moment and those special situations are the ones that make you champions of Europe.’
Garcia hailed the 3-0 mauling of Manchester City at Anfield that propelled Liverpool to a 5-1 aggregate win as ‘a complete display’.
He said: ‘Those first 45 minutes were quite amazing. They were about attacking, and scoring goals and creating chances.
‘The second half, Liverpool felt more comfortable and were very well organised at the back with those very fast counter-attacks.
‘(Virgil) van Dijk has arrived and has given confidence to the rest of them playing alongside him. It’s a fantastic combination.’
Liverpool thrashed Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate to reach the semi-finals
The Reds tore City apart in the first leg before claiming a 2-1 victory at the Etihad
On the most expensive defender in world football, he added: ‘Before (he arrived) it was like every time people were pointing at (Dejan) Lovren, (Ragnar) Klavan and (Joel) Matip.
‘It was always the fault of one of them. Right now they can kind of relax, the spotlight is on the other side and they can become more important to the team.
And he joined the long list of those praising the impact of the ‘unbelievable’ Salah, in a debut campaign that has seen him become just the third Liverpool player to net 40 goals in a season.
‘It’s just amazing what he’s done. The adaptation to the club, to the city, to the team has been fantastic
‘Scoring so many goals, so many important goals. They are the ones that count.
‘At the end if you score four goals in an 8-0 it’s fine, but scoring those goals like against City in the first and second leg, I think is so important.
‘He knows that and that’s why he’s bringing the best of himself for these important legs.
Garcia hailed Liverpool’s performance in the first leg at Anfield as a ‘complete display’
Garcia praised the impact of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah in transforming Liverpool
‘You could see against City in the second leg he wasn’t 100 per cent, but even though he was 80 per cent he managed to score an amazing goal.’
Liverpool’s run to the final four of the competition for the first time in a decade has brought back memories of when Rafa Benitez led the club to three semi-final appearances in four years.
And Garcia, a key figure in 2005, reveals the moment Liverpool believed they could lift the trophy in Instanbul.
He said: ‘I think Juventus, in the quarter-finals. It was an amazing team with those players – Thuram, Camoranesi, Cannavaro, Nedved, Buffon – so it was an amazing, amazing team.
Garcia scored a stunning goal when Liverpool beat Juventus in the quarters back in 2005
He admits that Liverpool started to believe when they dumped the Italians out of Europe
Garcia, who scored the famous semi-final winner against Europe, praised the impact of Anfield
‘And when you beat that team 2-1 and you manage to hold them in Turin for the 0-0 we realised we could beat anybody.
‘That’s the moment we realised we can achieve whatever it is, and we arrived to the final 3-0 down and we managed to come back.’
Garcia scored a stunning long-range strike on that April night 13 years ago at an electric Anfield.
And he admits it was ‘painful’ to be pitchside and have to watch the current crop in action against City earlier this month, instead of being in the thick of the action.
But he believes that Anfield atmosphere will prove crucial once again when Roma rock up on Tuesday night,
‘The atmosphere that the people at Anfield create is just amazing, it’s always special but for Champions League nights it’s always different.
‘They are so noisy and loud. It has to be the same way if they want to help the team, help the players overcome some bad situations during the game it has to be like this.’
Garcia revealed that his former Liverpool side believed they could beat anybody in 2005
The Spaniard scored crucial knockout goals to lead Liverpool into the final in Istanbul
Liverpool are aiming for their sixth European Cup after claiming their fifth back in 2005
Luis Garcia has made the Big Call with online betting site BetStars. He is backing Liverpool to win the Champions League. #Callit at BetStars