Andy Robertson says Liverpool boast the fear factor ahead of the Champions League last-16 draw

Andy Robertson believes Liverpool are the team to avoid in the Champions League last-16 as he set his sights on another trip to the final.

Liverpool secured their place in the knockout phase with a comprehensive 2-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday and they could face Real Madrid, Lyon or Borussia Dortmund, among others, when the draw takes place next Monday.

The manner of the victory in Austria augured well for the prospects of defending the title they won in June and Robertson feels Jurgen Klopp’s squad have made such progress in the last 18 months that nobody treats them lightly.

The Reds beat Salzburg 2-0 on Tuesday to seal their passage into the last-16 of the competition

Klopp has the remarkable statistic of winning every European two-legged knockout tie he has overseen at Anfield – his record stands at 10 out of 10 – and Robertson thinks perceptions changed about Liverpool when they went to Porto in February 2018 and won 5-0.

‘That is the atmosphere we have created in the last two years, a team which has been to the final twice and has obviously lost one and won one and we are respected in this tournament,’ said Robertson.

‘Maybe the first season when we went to the final, I don’t think we were really respected until maybe after the last 16 when we went to Porto and washed them away. We did not get the respect we deserved. Now, we know we are respected in Europe. No-one will want us.

‘But everyone who gets into the last 16 will fancy themselves. It is the toughest tournament. The teams you come up against are outstanding. Everyone is confident. And when it gets to the last 16 you get to the nitty gritty bits.

‘Last year – and the year before – we were excellent in the knockout stages and we controlled games but we know that now we are the champions, everyone wants to beat us. That is what we have to deal with and hopefully we can deal with it. We will worry about that when the time comes.’

Liverpool won 5-0 at Porto in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie back in 2018

There was a point earlier in the decade when Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich were the teams nobody wanted to be paired with in the knockout phase but Liverpool’s record under Klopp these past two years means they are assuming the mantle.

‘We don’t think about it like that,’ said Robertson. ‘We respect every opponent we play but we know the way we have done things in the last two years and nobody wants to play against us and that is clear – but it is up to us to keep proving that.

‘We cannot rely on that and we need to keep proving why people don’t want to play against us but so far, we have done that. We know it will be tough regardless but we look forward to the challenge as we want to go far in this tournament again.’

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has won all 10 of his European two-legged knockout ties at Anfield