The German star is one of the world’s best centre backs
He may well be one of the best and most sought after centre backs in European football but Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is not in awe of Mats Hummels.
The Liverpool striker was speaking ahead of the Reds massive second leg tie against Dortmund on Thursday night, when he may get the nod to start (as many are hoping) alongside Divock Origi against the German international.
The Dortmund captain scored his side’s goal in the 1-1 last week and was instrumental (although, perhaps not as much as his goalie) in keeping Liverpool down to just the one away goal.
And Hummels will no doubt be a key figure tomorrow night as the two sides come together again. But Sturridge, who has seemingly overcome his recent injury struggles, sees no reason to be in awe of the 27 year old.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, Sturridge said: “I’m at his level, so I don’t look at him as anyone who’s bigger than me or better than me or I’m in awe.
“Not at all. He’s the same as me. We face players at the top level in the Premier League – it’s the best league in the world.
“We face defenders who don’t probably get as much credit as they deserve. I’ve been playing at the top level for a long time now so it’s nothing new.
“It’s just going to be a great night for everyone, and you can’t let nerves get the better of you. You just have to enjoy it, that’s what life’s all about.”
The 26 year old striker is yet to really return to his best for Liverpool since returning to full fitness but there were definite signs against Stoke on Sunday, particularly when paired with youngster Origi.
Both strikers scored against Stoke and will be in contention for the game on Thursday night and Sturridge believes that he will only continue to improve the more he plays. He continued: “It’s never easy to score in every game so I can’t really set myself that standard but I think being better than one in two is really where you want to really be at.
“One in two was (in the past), and it’s still a good strike rate, but I’m hard on myself so I don’t want to settle for that.”
