Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos told kicker Liverpool have impressed him as he looked ahead to the Champions League final against Jurgen Klopp's side in Kiev later this month.
Madrid beat Bayern Munich 4-3 on aggregate to reach the final, with Liverpool joining them after a 7-6 aggregate victory over Roma.
Kroos has played in seven consecutive Champions League semifinals for Bayern and Real and could win the trophy for a fourth time, but warned that his team would face a tough challenge against Klopp's team.
"They are not there for nothing," Kroos said. "This team surprised me [in the quarterfinals] against Manchester City, and impressed me very much.
"It's one match, and we are very much looking forward to it. We will travel to Kiev to win it, and even if that's a set phrase it worked pretty well in the past two seasons."
Last season, Real became the first team to defend the Champions League and are now targeting a hat trick of wins.
"I don't know if you can achieve that by just playing well," he said of the team's recent European record.
"You must have that certain something in Champions League games, because many teams have the quality.
"Somehow, we just show up for that stage. It's hard to explain, and maybe that's in the club itself and every player gets a bit of that."