ISTANBUL SPIRIT THE KEY, SAYS JURGEN

JURGEN KLOPP revealed he urged Liverpool’s players to summon the spirit of Istanbul as they pulled off perhaps the greatest escape of their European history. With his side trailing Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at half-time in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal, Klopp (right) delivered a rousing team talk, urging them to ‘give their grandchildren something to remember’. And he felt compelled to liken it to the famous comeback against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League Final. Klopp said: ‘Something happened in the stadium. You could see it, feel it and you could smell it. I told the lads I was not there but a few Liverpool players, who are now experts on TV, were. They were 3-0 down and won a Champions League Final. ‘Even when it is not likely, it is still possible. I saw that game. When I was sitting there, with a beer, I did not think Liverpool were going to win but they still had that chance and they took it. We did it tonight. It was brilliant, wonderful, emotional. It was an outstanding atmosphere.’ Divock Origi, who pulled the first goal back, said: ‘The coach told us: “Create a moment to tell our grandchildren, make it a special night for the fans” — we believed. ‘When we scored the first goal, we felt it was going to be a special moment. At the end, defenders and strikers were all fighting for the ball. I think we deserved the win.’ Match-winner Dejan Lovren added: ‘It’s an amazing feeling. We never stopped believing in ourselves. We said at half-time we have nothing to lose. We need to just believe. It was a great effort from everyone.’ Klopp added: ‘That’s what European football can be at its best. Wonderful experience. It’s hard to believe that it happened.’