Preview'UEFA Youth League is exciting for the players and a good stepping stone'
Barry Lewtas is hoping Liverpool’s U19s can take inspiration from the likes of Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley, who went on to play for the senior team after featuring in the UEFA Youth League.
The young Reds return to the competition in 2024-25, which will mirror the new format of the senior Champions League with an initial 36-team league phase.
They will, however, play just the first six parallel fixtures in the Youth League league phase, in contrast to the eight matches contested in the Champions League.
First up on Tuesday afternoon is an away date with AC Milan. Kick-off at Centro Sportivo Vismara is 1.30pm BST and you can watch the game live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO.
Read on as head coach Lewtas speaks with Liverpoolfc.com about the excitement in the squad ahead of the opening tie in Milan…
On a return to the UEFA Youth League…
It’s a fantastic competition for the young players but also for the Academy, the staff included. You come up against some of the best players and some of the best coaches in Europe so for us [it is] a real exciting opportunity and an exciting opportunity for the players because of the number of players in the past who played in this competition going on to play for the first team. It’s a real good stepping stone and a test in their young career.
On Jones scoring hat-tricks in this competition in the past…
I remember Curtis scoring a hat-trick against Napoli, he played in this competition for a few years with Harvey Elliott. A number of boys have featured for us in the UEFA Youth League, the likes of Jarell, Conor, Tyler Morton, lots of players. Without doubt it does play a part in their development.
On playing just the first six fixtures, which include exciting games against the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid in Kirkby…
The previous format was the same as the first team with six games, playing home and away, which was great. I suppose this time it gives us six games against six different opponents. The challenge is that little bit different but what’s great about that is it gives us exposure to playing against six different teams, so from a player point of view it’s great to test their wits against those different sides. For us as staff, it’s a really good opportunity as well to come up against six different European teams.
On the challenge of facing AC Milan in their opening game…
We played two real good games against AC Milan a couple of seasons ago when we were last in the competition, we won 1-0 in Kirkby and drew in Milan. Great occasions as well, AC Milan are a fantastic team and a fantastic name in European football so for us we are really excited to go back there and certainly without doubt it’s going to be a big challenge for us having seen what they are capable of, but it’s one we are really looking forward to.
On taking his young squad away with the senior team and representing the club in Europe…
The whole competition and the way it’s organised is fantastic. You do get that buzz. We get to play our game on Tuesday afternoon, which I know the first-team staff will have a bit of a watch and there is always something on that as well. That’s nice and for us we get to watch the first team later that evening up close, which is a fantastic experience for the players. Champions League nights are very special at Anfield and Champions League nights at the San Siro is a fantastic experience as well, so I’m really pleased that this current group will get the opportunity that others have had before them.
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