Liverpool 'can demolish anyone' in UEFA Champions League, claims Peter Crouch, but Joe Cole sounds PSG alarm
Updated 04/03/2025 at 13:02 GMT
Peter Crouch has backed Liverpool to win this season's UEFA Champions League, with the former Reds striker believing Arne Slot's side "can demolish anyone" in the competition. With the Premier League title looking increasingly likely to land at Anfield, Liverpool turn their attentions to Europe as they face a tough last-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain.
Agree or Disagree: Liverpool to win the Champions League?
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Peter Crouch has said that "Liverpool can demolish anyone" in the UEFA Champions League as a host of TNT Sports experts debated the big questions ahead of the last 16.
The Premier League leaders opened up a 13-point gap on second-placed Arsenal in the English top-flight on Wednesday, as their impressive debut season under Arne Slot continues, with attention now turning back to the continent.
Liverpool breezed through the league phase in Europe, topping the table to earn an automatic last-16 spot. Despite that, they have been handed the daunting task of facing Paris Saint-Germain, with the first leg live on TNT Sports and discovery+ on Wednesday.
PSG clinched a huge 10-0 aggregate win over Brest in the play-offs, and Ousmane Dembele is spearheading a fine run of form for the Parisian side, with a rich vein of goalscoring form which has seen him net 20 goals in his last 15 appearances.
Despite laying out the "incredibly difficult" task ahead of Liverpool, Crouch feels they are "the best team" in the competition.
"I think it's incredibly difficult to do both, and it looks like they're going to win the Premier League," Crouch said on Agree or Disagree. "Of course they can, they're the best team in it in my opinion. But it doesn't always happen that way does it.
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'Big compliment for the players' - Slot impressed with Liverpool's title charge
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"I just don't think the teams around them in the Premier League are going to put them to the test enough.
"Liverpool demolished Real Madrid already, and I feel like they can demolish anyone in front of them on their day. I think they win it."
Speaking with TNT Sports pundits Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole and Ally McCoist, Crouch saw his opinion waved away as his colleagues suggested that Real Madrid remain the front-runners for European glory this season.
"I think Liverpool have been excellent this season," McCoist added. "But I just think their route to the final at this stage is going to be difficult anyway.
"I just think Real Madrid are one of these teams that know how to do it. Of course Liverpool could win it, I just think Real Madrid will win it."
Both Ferdinand and Cole agreed with McCoist, claiming the quality of opposition could be too much for Slot's side.
"I really fancy PSG to go far in the competition," Cole said. "I think they'll beat Liverpool. I think Liverpool are, with Real Madrid, the best team in it, but the way PSG have been playing... have you seen [Ousmane] Dembele and [Bradley] Barcola?
"Something's changed at PSG and there's belief there now, and I just think Liverpool got the rough end of the draw."
Ferdinand added: "I just feel that knockout Real Madrid are different to the league stage Real Madrid. They've just more match-winners [than Liverpool]. They've got more players who can win a match on their own."
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024-25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
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