Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez admits he's been impressed by Liverpool this season.

The two teams will clash in the Champions League round of 16 this week.

"I was watching the game against Norwich on Saturday," he says.

"If not for the goal from [Sadio] Mane, who produces an extraordinary piece of control, then they don't win. But for a long time now they have been winning games they could have drawn or even lost.

"They always find a way, sometimes in the last minutes, and that tells you something about what they have inside, their character. It's not luck, it's work."

Saul believes Reds captain Jordan Henderson is key to their style of play.

"They all run and press and they manage it so well because it's not just running for the sake of running. It's very well organised. If [Mohamed] Salah goes wide, then Henderson comes inside, if someone else goes inside, someone else goes outside.

"And maybe some people don't rate Henderson as highly as [Georginio] Wijnaldum, (Naby) Keita or Fabinho but I think he is the one that brings that team together.

"Henderson does that so-called dirty work that Gabi [Fernandez] used to do for us, that I have to do, that Koke does. He is an example in so many facets of the game."