Former Saints captain Adam Lallana left Southampton for Liverpool to play Champions League football, and now that he’s about to make his second start in Europe’s most important club competition, he’s not about to take any team lightly — including FC Basel, who the Reds will square off against later today.
“You can’t underestimate any team. You have to take them all on merit. We know Real Madrid have some exceptional players and I heard in that game Basel had a few chances as well, so it could have been different,” he told the clubs official website before flying off with the squad to Switzerland. “We feel that if we concentrate on ourselves and put in a good performance, keep progressing and getting better, like we feel we have been doing, then we can get the right result.”
The 26-year old has found it hard going since trading the South Coast for Merseyside with a serious knee injury following a dismal World Cup performance by England halting both his pre-season and his integration into the squad. Reds boss Brendan Rodgers hasn’t shied away from playing the attacking midfielder since he’s returned from injury and he’s starting to once again show all the reasons why the Northern Irishman splashed the cash for him over the summer.
Liverpool laboured to a 2-1 win over PFC Ludogrets in their opening match, and though they showed some signs of improving on their dismal run of form during the draw with Everton at the weekend, Lallana isn’t about to start counting their points quite yet. “Basel had a good run in the competition last year and did well against English opposition, so it’s going to be a tough night for us” he said. Based on recent performances, there’s little to suggest that we have any reason to question him.
