Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted his delight at being drawn against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The Premier League outfit were drawn in Group B alongside the European champions, Basel and Ludogrets.
And the former England international has revealed that he was desperate to come up against Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
“They were one of the sides that all of the players wanted, and certainly the supporters," he told the club's official website.
“For us, it's a chance to go and compete against the best. We're not in this competition to make the numbers up, we're not celebrating and going out to enjoy this competition – we want to compete and go as far as we can.
“We're going to treat every team in the group the same – but, of course, it's going to be an exciting encounter when Real come to Anfield and also us going away as well. I can't wait.
“It's a chance for us to compete against some of the best players in the world – the likes of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema.
“We're quite a new team, so it's a great chance for our lads to compete and see how good we are and how far we've come.
“We've got a lot of respect for Real Madrid but we certainly have confidence we can compete with them.”
