JURGEN KLOPP has given Rangers plenty of respect after Liverpool were drawn against the Scottish giants in the Champions League.
The Reds will head to Ibrox, with Napoli and Ajax also paired alongside them in Group A.
Klopp has plotted Rangers' progress in recent years and he watched on as the club booked their place in the group stages via the play-off route.
The Anfield boss was mightily impressed and he is expecting a major test against Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side.
“The first thing to say is this is a proper, proper challenge,” he told the club’s website.
“All of the clubs have quality, they all have pedigree and I would say they all have a chance. The good thing is that we do also, so it makes sense for us to look forward to the challenge and give it a try.
“We did not ask for any favours and we have not been given any, but this is not a competition where you can look for easy ways through because the standard is always unbelievably high.
“We will not have to look too hard to find information about our opponents, though.
“Rangers are a new opponent for us, but we know them, too. Their story over the last few years has been really interesting and they did really, really well to qualify for the group stage, given the teams they were up against in the qualifying matches.
“We also know a couple of their players well. Ryan Kent has had a great development since moving to Scotland and Ben Davies is just starting out on his journey with Rangers, so it will be good to come up against them.
“The only certainty right now is that all of the six games will be incredibly competitive and really intense. I’m excited about it. It is a proper football group and, like I said, a proper challenge.”
