Klopp: I just don’t know how we did it BOSS HAILS HIS PLAYERS AS ‘GIANTS’
JURGEN KLOPP hailed Liverpool’s ‘giants’ as they produced the greatest comeback in the club’s history to reach another Champions League final.
Anfield has witnessed some extraordinary nights in the past but this was on another level.
Divock Origi, who replaced the concussed Mohamed Salah, and substitute Gini Wijnaldum each scored twice to flatten the Catalans.
Few gave Liverpool a hope of overturning the 3-0 first-leg deficit to book a place in their ninth European Cup final but they ran a staggering 75 miles compared to Barcelona’s 65 miles and the second half was a one-way assault on Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s goal. Ernesto Valverde’s side could not withstand the tide that washed over them.
At the final whistle, Liverpool’s players celebrated in front of the Kop and this performance outstripped the matches that made legends in the past, such as St Etienne, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, and arguably surpassed the 2005 final against AC Milan in Istanbul.
Klopp said: ‘ They are f***ing giants. If you have to fine me, fine me! The whole game was too much. It was overwhelming. We played against maybe the best team in the world. Winning is difficult but winning with a clean sheet, I just don’t know how they did it. It’s unbelievable.’
He added to BT Sport: ‘I saw James Milner crying on the pitch after the game. It means so much to all of us. It’s the best phase of football. There are more important things in the world. But creating
this emotional atmosphere together is so special. It’s all about the players.
‘The mix of potential and unbelievable heart is just a mix I never saw before. You have to be confident in a game like this. Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri didn’t play a lot. Putting a performance in like that, it was so important. It shows what’s possible in football. It’s so nice. It’s really nice.
‘We had to be serious. But we needed to be cheeky as well. It was necessary. Barcelona defend predictable things well. But you need to be unpredictable at moments. I saw the ball flying in the goal, I didn’t see the corner. I didn’t see who took the corner. Ben Woodburn said, “What happened?’”
Wijnaldum, who replaced the injured Andrew Robertson at halftime, said: ‘It is unbelievable. After the game in Spain we were confident we could score four and win 4-0. People outside doubted us and thought we couldn’t do it. But once again we showed everything is possible in football.
‘I was really angry that the manager put me on the bench. I just tried to help my team, I’m happy I could do that with two goals.’
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was outstanding throughout. He left the pitch singing one of the club’s anthems ‘Allez! Allez! Allez!’ and wants to experience the joy of winning his first trophy as skipper in Madrid.
‘I don’t think many people gave us a chance. We knew it would be difficult but still possible. The belief we have in the changing room is amazing. We knew we could do something special at Anfield. Look at the fans and the lads. This is a special night. This is up there with the best.
‘We wanted to start fast. We got an early goal which helped. It wasn’t just the goal, it was getting after them and putting them under pressure. We knew if we showed personality and heart then we’d have a chance.’
Valverde, Barcelona’s head coach, was stunned and had no complaints. This is the second time in two years his team have collapsed after having a three-goal lead going into the second leg of a Champions League tie. In 2018, Roma beat them in the quarterfinals on away goals.
He said: ‘It’s happened again. It happened last year. It’s true that it has been different games, the first leg and second leg.
‘They started really well and they pinned us back. Early goal, we reacted well after that. We managed to control things a little bit in the second half of the first half. We had half- chances to score.
‘I think that we conceded two goals and then they really kind of got on top of us after those two quick concessions.
‘We haven’t managed to get on the scoresheet tonight. They scored two in two and they kind of us rolled us over, really. They have been really strong, they played really well. We’ve got to congratulate them on the performance they put up in the tie as a whole.
‘It is a terrible result for our fans and for ourselves. We didn’t expect a situation like this. This is what has happened to us. It is really, really unfortunate but credit is due to Liverpool.’