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Liverpool vs Bayern: Xherdan Shaqiri 'always wanted' Champions League reunion with former club

Shaqiri spent three years at Bayern, winning two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League among other major honours

Mark Critchley
Northern Football Correspondent
Monday 18 February 2019 12:13 GMT
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Jurgen Klopp hails players' character as Liverpool surge back to winning ways

Xherdan Shaqiri always wanted Liverpool to draw Bayern Munich and is looking forward to a reunion with his former club.

Shaqiri spent three years at Bayern, winning two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League among other major honours.

But the Switzerland international struggled to establish himself as a regular starter at the Allianz Arena and left for Inter in 2015.

Shaqiri has fond memories of his time in Bavaria but was eager to come up against his old club again in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

“I was very happy because I wanted to play against Bayern Munich, against my old teammates and my old team,” he told Liverpool’s official website, ahead of Tuesday’s last-16 first leg.

“It was an amazing time [at Bayern]. We won a lot of titles, we won the Champions League. We had the best team Bayern Munich had.

“It was an amazing feeling to win so many trophies. I had many great memories there, I will never forget them.

“I’m really looking forward to going there and trying to win the game in Munich with my team.”

Shaqiri was a Stoke City player last season when Liverpool progressed to the Champions League final, ultimately finishing as runners-up to Real Madrid.

The summer signing is confident that Jurgen Klopp’s side can reach the latter stages of the competition again.

“They are going to be two very difficult games against Bayern because they are a top side,” he said.

“The two games will be interesting because both teams attack and play offensively. We need two very good performances to go through. We can go very far, I hope.”

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