Liverpool begin their Champions League campaign against Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield tonight with Jürgen Klopp explaining why reaching last season’s final will have no influence on how his side fare this time around.

The Reds surged to the Kiev showpiece as they swept FC Porto, Manchester City and AS Roma aside in the tournament knockout stages, but suffered heartbreak in the final against Real Madrid.

And while Klopp believes the experiences the team picked up en route to Ukraine can be useful, he’s stressed why being finalists last term won’t aid their cause as they aim to mount another tilt at the trophy.

The boss wrote in his column in ‘This is Anfield’: “Since the draw was made for the group stage every question I have answered on the Champions League and our expectations for this campaign have focused on us being finalists last time out. But what we did last season does not interest me from a football perspective because it is not important.

“12 months ago when we started our journey against Sevilla we were not thinking of Kiev and finals – and it must be the same again. We are given no extra goals, points or benefits because last season we made the final. We start from the beginning again – a new road and a new journey. Trying to measure or predict in this moment, before we play a single minute of a single game, how far we can progress in this specific competition is as futile as it is unhelpful.

“The benefits we can take from last season is the collective experiences we all shared. We can draw on the feeling of joy and anticipation. We take the benefit of knowing we have nothing to fear and that this is a competition where we can express ourselves and be positive.

“Since returning to work in July there has been so much outside noise and focus on what will happen come May. The place where this noise has been best blocked out is Melwood Training Ground though and this has shown in our early results. You achieve in football by focusing on the moment, the here-and-now. It’s not that we forget our past or ignore the future – it’s just that when preparing a game it is not useful.

“I really want to praise my players actually for how they have approached these opening weeks. Of course, it is just a start and so far we have given ourselves a solid base in the Premier League, but nothing more than that. However, attitude and commitment has been of elite quality each and every day – and I don’t just mean those who have started regularly.

“The entire squad has recognised that keeping standards at the highest level in every training session is essential. Everyone recognises they must be ready in each and every moment.”

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