Willams sets Liverpool ‘best team in the world’ challenge as Reds respond to rare setback

Neco Williams has challenged Liverpool to prove that they are “one of the best teams in the world” by responding positively to a rare setback suffered in Champions League competition.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were beaten 2-0 by Atalanta at Anfield in their last European outing.

Liverpool are unaccustomed to coming unstuck on home soil, with their recent success having been built on the sturdiest of foundations.

An immediate opportunity to right continental wrongs will present itself on Saturday, with the Reds set to take in a Premier League trip to Brighton.

Williams, who is providing cover for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, is eager to see the defending English champions deliver a performance against the Seagulls that allows them to put down another marker to domestic rivals.

The Wales international has told Liverpool’s official website: “With a team like us, we’re fighting to win trophies and to do the best we can. At the moment, I’d say we’re one of the best teams in the world, so to make sure we bounce back and get the result that we want is a massive part of this team.

“With the lads we have around us and the staff and everyone around us, I think it is possible to bounce back in the way we want to. We can prove to people that we can bounce back and get the win.”

Williams added on a quick turnaround, which Klopp has criticised: “We’re playing two games a week, so it’s literally: play, recover, play, recover. You don’t really have time to dwell on the games that you lose.

“I think the main focus now is to put the [Atalanta] game to the side, put it to bed and focus on the next game. I think that’s what has been the main part of our success in recent years is putting the bad games away to bed and focusing on the next game, doing what we do and getting the wins.”

A trip to the Amex Stadium will see ambitious Liverpool reunited with a familiar face, with Brighton hoping that Adam Lallana can shake off a knock in time to face his former club.

Williams is hoping to line up against the England international, saying of a man who spent six years on Merseyside before returning to the south coast over the summer: “For me, I’d say he’s one of the best trainers I’ve ever trained with and played with. He’s a top athlete and when we used to do training, in my opinion, he was the best trainer every single day.

“They’re a top side and I’m sure whoever they put in, they’re going to have good players. We’ll do our best to try to get the win and we’ll play our football.”