Michael Ballack names Premier League club as his ‘favourites’ to win Champions League

Michael Ballack says he has been ‘positively surprised’ by Arne Slot’s impressive start at Liverpool and named the club as his ‘favourites’ to win this season’s Champions League.

Liverpool maintained their 100 per cent record in Europe’s premier competition with a 2-1 defeat of ten-man Lille on Tuesday night.

The Reds appeared to be heading for a comfortable victory as Aissa Mandi was given his marching orders midway through the second half after Mohamed Salah’s 34th-minute opener on Merseyside.

But Jonathan David equalised just moments after Mandi’s red card to set up an intriguing finish, only for Harvey Elliot to restore the hosts’ lead with a deflected strike just five minutes later.

The win – Liverpool’s seventh on the spin in Europe – secured Slot’s men a place in the round of 16, which begins in March. The Premier League leaders will be seeded and face one of the eight teams that advance from February’s playoffs.

‘If in tennis you are the No.1 seed it is better to face the No.24 than the 12th, but it is a ranking based on years,’ Liverpool head coach Slot said shortly after the final whistle.

‘Now we are in a new format when some teams are high in the league table because they had a lucky draw and some teams are low because they have a very difficult draw.

‘It is far off to say it is an advantage to be one or two.

‘You might be lucky, you might be very unlucky.

‘For me, it doesn’t tell me anything. The most important thing is we managed to skip a round.’

Speaking to German publication Sport Bild after Tuesday’s fixtures, Ballack picked out Liverpool as the standout contenders to get their hands on this year’s trophy over the holders Real Madrid.

‘Judging by their performances so far, Real Madrid are not my top favourite,’ the former Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Germany midfielder said.

‘That would be Liverpool, who are currently dominating the Champions League.

‘I was positively surprised by how Arne Slot managed the transition after the Jurgen Klopp era came to an end.

‘It is always twice as difficult when you follow greats like Klopp or somebody like Jose Mourinho at my former club Chelsea, who achieved something unique.

‘I see Atalanta as the secret favourite. They have a clear plan offensively and defensively and dominated Bayer Leverkusen in last year’s Europa League final.’

Assessing Bayern’s chances in Europe, Ballack said: ‘It depends on two factors: our own performance and how strong the competition is.

‘I can see that the team have improved under Vincent Kompany compared to the previous season.

‘He’s got them going with his style of play, with aggressive and offensive football after a few adjustments in defence.

‘There is not a lot of competition with five or six outstanding teams so the final is absolutely doable for Bayern, especially if Jamal Musiala continues to play well.’

By his standards, Kylian Mbappe has had a steady start for Real Madrid in this year’s Champions League, managing just two goals in his opening six matches.

But Ballack has no doubt that the France forward will be a ‘sensation’ for Madrid once he has fully settled into life in the Spanish capital.

‘Because he does not yet have the stability that he had during his time in Paris, he does not yet have the influence on the team that Lionel Messi once had at Barcelona or Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid,’ Ballack explained.

‘This example shows that going to Real is a different matter altogether. Nevertheless, Kylian Mbappe is an outstanding player and will of course be a sensation.’

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