Mignolet: We want this trophy but won't look beyond Leeds
The desire to go one better in the League Cup this season is felt keenly by Simon Mignolet, but the goalkeeper has warned against any distractions when Liverpool host Leeds United.
Jürgen Klopp’s side were a penalty shootout away from claiming the trophy last term as Manchester City ultimately prevailed on a frustrating day for the Reds at Wembley.
In the previous campaign, Mignolet was part of a team who were narrowly eliminated at the semi-final stage by Chelsea after extra-time in the second leg of a hard-fought tie.
So it is understandable that the Belgian – confirmed to start against Leeds tonight – is especially eager to eradicate the memory of those disappointments by securing the silverware this time around.
But the stopper insists nobody in the side will be thinking beyond the task of defeating Garry Monk’s Championship outfit at Anfield.
He told Liverpoolfc.com: “We want to win a trophy. The League Cup is the first trophy we can win in the season. At Liverpool Football Club, you want to win trophies.
“We have a chance, being already in the quarter-finals and with a lot of teams knocked out of this competition. We want to move on and progress to the semi-finals.
“But you can’t really think about [winning] it yet. Leeds is going to be a very tough fixture. We have to get ourselves in the right frame of mind to get the victory against them. Then we’ll see.
“There’s no point in thinking about what’s coming – Leeds will be tough enough.”
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The Yorkshire club travel to Anfield on the back of a 2-1 win at Rotherham United and are currently fifth in the Championship standings.
Reds legend Robbie Fowler – who played for both teams during his career – argued that Liverpool should approach the tie as if it is a Premier League match.
Mignolet agrees: “It is like a Premier League game and a tough one as well.
“If you see how Leeds are performing at the moment, they’re pushing to come into the Premier League themselves.
“It will be a physical game and we have to be prepared for their best performance. And we have to make sure that we turn up on the day.”
The No.22 will return to Klopp’s starting line-up for the first time since the previous round of the EFL Cup last month, when Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 2-1 at Anfield.
It’s an opportunity he’s looking forward to.
“You train every day to show the manager you are ready to play,” Mignolet added. “If you get the chance, you want to show what you can do on the pitch.
“I’m really excited for this game. Hopefully we can go through to the next round. That’s the most important thing; my individual performance always comes second.
“We want to get through because after that would be the semi-final. We went to the final last season and this year we want to win it. It would be a major step. Let’s hope we can do the job.”