Roma take on Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final first-leg tie at Anfield on Tuesday.
The bookmakers may have Real Madrid and Bayern Munich as favorites to lift the title but Giallorossi star Radja Nainggolan revealed that Liverpool were the toughest team out of the three they could have drawn in the last-four.
Nainggolan claimed that the Reds were the side he least wanted to face because they are ‘warriors’, like Roma.
He explained: “I wasn’t happy with the draw, because in my view Liverpool were the toughest team out of the three.
“It’s not that they have more quality than Real Madrid or Bayern, but they put a lot of hard work in and have nothing to lose. Real and Bayern might’ve underestimated Roma, but Liverpool are warriors, a bit like us.”
Nainggolan also revealed that he spoke to former Roma teammate Mohamed Salah in the lead up to the game.
The Belgium international is looking forward to meeting Salah again and spoke highly of his character.
The powerful midfielder also underlined that he is not surprised at how well Salah is doing at Liverpool.
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“I spoke to Salah and he couldn’t believe we’d beaten Barcelona either! He was joking on Instagram that we’ll never hear the end of Kostas Manolas saying he scored the winning goal.
“It’ll be nice to see Momo again, we had a good rapport. He’s a good guy, sweet and respectful, as well as being an excellent player.
“I am not surprised by his success at Liverpool, as he always had the quality. The only difference now is perhaps he’s got more opportunities and also learned to keep a cool head in front of goal. I’m a fan of his.”
Roma brought in Cengiz Under to replace Salah. The Turkey international has been in impressive form since February scoring seven times and providing two assists in all competitions.
Under and Salah are both expected to start for their respective sides.
