Jason McAteer: Jurgen Klopp has the tactical knowledge to overcome Atletico

Jurgen Klopp has never lost a two-legged European tie, a proud record which I have no doubt he’ll be extending when the Champions League resumes next week.

Liverpool begin the knockout stage of their title defence against Atletico Madrid, one of Spanish football’s true powers and a test for anyone.

But it’s a test which I’m confident Klopp and Liverpool will pass.

Klopp possesses an incredible knack for managing two-legged European ties, as he demonstrated against Bayern Munich and Barcelona last season.

Bayern and Barca threw everything at Liverpool. They were unbelievable. But he just rode the storm, took all the punches and when they ran out of steam, the Reds battered them.

And that’s because he had that tactical knowledge to do it.

Atletico represent a tough challenge but there’s nothing about them to fear.

They don’t score many goals but then they never have under Diego Simeone, and I do wonder if he’s running out of steam at the club.

What Simeone has achieved in the shadow of Real and Barcelona is extraordinary, especially when you consider that they never have been a goalscoring team in a league where there are plenty of goals.

Atletico have often had a stellar striker – think of Fernando Torres, Sergio Aguero, Radamel Falcao and Antoine Griezmann – but rarely two in the same team. So they’ve always looked to one player for goals and are not a side to hit teams for three or four.

Now they’ve got Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata in the side, though neither are as good as those other strikers and Costa seems to be constantly battling injuries.

Klopp knows it will be tough in Madrid but he won’t mind coming away with a draw or even a 1-0 defeat because he knows he has the firepower to beat them at Anfield.

I think he’ll go there and set up quite defensively. It wouldn’t surprise me if he went with James Milner, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson in midfield. He could also rest Sadio Mane or Mo Salah and bring in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain because he does much more running defensively than the other two.

Whoever he chooses he’ll be confident because over two legs – as we’ve seen time and time again – Klopp is pretty much unbeatable.

Jordan Henderson is odds-on to be PFA player of the year. How does he rate among Liverpool’s best leaders?

Critics spent years having a go at Jordan Henderson, saying that he would never be good enough to fill Steven Gerrard’s boots.

Now you can say what you want about the two men as players but there’s one department where you definitely can compare them and that’s their ability to drag their side over the line.

Stevie G was the master of driving his team into the dirt and getting that one final push to get a result. And Jordan is every inch his match in terms of winning mentality.

I’ve got nothing but admiration for Henderson, who would definitely get my vote for player of the year.

The sacrifices he has made to get to where he is mark him out as a true Liverpool leader.

Jordan had barely been at the club when then manager Brendan Rodgers wanted him out of the door, either by selling him or trading him for Clint Dempsey who was at Fulham.

You can only imagine how demoralising that must have been for a player who was already enduring criticism from fans saying he wasn’t good enough.

But he basically knocked on Brendan’s door and pleaded not to go, protesting that all he wanted to do was play for Liverpool.

It was a brave thing to do and after all that to come through and become the man who lifts the Champions League trophy and will soon lift the Premier League trophy says so much about Jordan as a person.

He’s still growing and maturing into a really versatile midfielder who could easily have another few years at the top at Anfield.

He can tackle and head a ball, he’s got all ranges of passing, is unbelievably fit and has that desire to lead the team to victory in every game.

He has the ability to go with the hunger and the passion and there’s more than a shred of Steven Gerrard in him.

Philippe Coutinho has been rumoured for a return to the Premier League. Where could you see him fitting in?

A move back to the Premier League for Philippe Coutinho doesn’t sound too ridiculous but I disagree with those suggesting there’s a place for him back at Anfield.

Coutinho served a purpose at Liverpool and was a great player for a period of time – but that time has gone.

Barcelona came calling and as a South American superstar I absolutely understand why that would look such an attractive move.

So he wanted away and started to sulk a bit and eventually he went in what turned out to be a superb piece of business for the club, far better than Liverpool would have hoped for.

He would still grace the top clubs in Europe, as he’s showed at Bayern Munich where he’s done okay – but he needs to be the centre of attention. That wasn’t the case at Liverpool and certainly wasn’t the case at Barcelona.

I could see him slotting in perfectly at Chelsea, where Frank Lampard is doing unbelievable things trying to reboot that club using a lot of young talent bedding in alongside some experienced stars.

Coutinho would feel really comfortable in the number ten role at Stamford Bridge with the protection of N'Golo Kante and Jorginho and an array of young frontmen around him who would thrive working off him.

The sticking point, of course, is that Barcelona would want silly money for him and I’m not sure Chelsea or Manchester United or Spurs would be prepared to break the bank to get him.

Danny Ings continues to impress at Southampton, do you think he should get another chance at a top-six side?

The way he has been playing suggests he should get another chance at a top-six club – and also get another chance with England.

What Danny has achieved at Southampton this season is an object lesson in never giving up and backing yourself.

He’s a great lad and a great character and I always felt really sorry for him at Liverpool where he was desperate to grasp an opportunity and give it a go.

But a combination of back injuries and the difficulty in breaking into Klopp’s front three meant he never got a real go and I know that will be eating him up.

He would have loved to have made it at Anfield and there was a real show of affection from the players and Klopp when Ings returned with Southampton recently because they know the hard work he has put in to get to this stage of his career.

He could easily have hung around Liverpool, played second fiddle and taken the money, but he wanted to be off and playing first-team football, improving and scoring goals. I love that desire in him.

Strikers are a breed who believe in themselves and Danny will now have his eyes on the Golden Boot because he’s confident that his body won’t break down and that he will keep finding the net. And without him Southampton would be in real trouble.

Given what he has done this season and all the goals he has scored he definitely deserves a crack at England. With Marcus Rashford and Harry Kane out I don’t see why he shouldn’t be in Gareth Southgate’s next squad and that would give him a chance to make the Euros.

And if he does kick on he could easily get another shot with a top team.

Mo Salah has been asked to represent Egypt at the Olympics, do you think he should go or put the club first?

Klopp’s job, first and foremost, is to protect his players at all costs and he will want all his players back for the whole of pre-season.

And given that he has complained, rightly, about the demands of the fixture schedule then he will do everything to make sure Mo Salah is with Liverpool in the summer.

Klopp isn’t the only one who will want him there. Salah is a marketing dream and the club’s owners will definitely want him to fly the flag for the brand on any pre-season tours.

Yet I still sense that there’s going to be a difficult conversation to be had between Klopp and Salah over whether the Egyptian goes to this summer’s Olympics.

We don’t quite get it because the Olympics to us doesn’t seem like a major tournament.

But to other countries it’s absolutely massive and I dare say Egypt are included in that number. Of course, Mo is an absolute god out there so they would absolutely want him to be in Tokyo on their behalf.

It would be slightly hypocritical of Klopp to give Salah his blessing given the manager’s views on rest and playing too much football, but equally it's not worth risking a fall-out with a player who every club in the world would want.

It’s a sensitive subject and I sense we haven’t heard the last of it – but personally I’d be surprised if he goes to Tokyo.

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