Golden Boot winner Ciro Immobile wary of Bayern and Liverpool in knockouts

Ciro Immobile on Tuesday helped SS Lazio qualify for the Champions League knockout stage after a 20 year absence. In the post game interview(TEAMTALK), Immobile registered Lazio’s collective pride on their achievement while also noting his preference to rather avoid drawing “prohibitive” teams such as Bayern Munich or Liverpool in the round of 16.

Part of Dortmund’s group F, Lazio’s final group stage game ended at 2-2 against Club Brugge to secure second place and confirm their qualification in the knockouts. Lazio will now look to maximise on their chances with a relatively easy draw in the round of 16. From the confirmed table toppers, Lazio can possibly draw one of Bayern, Liverpool, Chelsea or Juventus. Group B, C and G’s final standings will be decided after tonight’s fixtures.

Wary of drawing probably the toughest opponents, Immobile had this to say: “Now we wait for the draw and hope not to be drawn with prohibitive teams such as Bayern or Liverpool. We have enthusiasm, we enjoy playing. The important thing is to gain experience in this competition.”

Immobile’s apprehensions reflect how a large section of fans and players of other clubs see the Bayern juggernaut who have managed to grind positive results in times when other top clubs across Europe are struggling — with the impact of COVID-19 being a major contributing factor.

It is to be seen how some of the remaining group games will play out, especially group B’s Real Madrid game against Borussia Monchengladbach as the round of 16 draw that will follow is bound to produce some very interesting fixtures this season.