Feels like the first time, says Klopp as Liverpool reach final once more
Juergen Klopp said reaching his fourth Champions League final as a coach felt almost like a new experience as his Liverpool side came back from two goals down against Villarreal to secure a 5-2 aggregate win in their semi-final on Tuesday.
Liverpool, leading 2-0 from the first leg in England last week, were rocked by two first half goals from the Spanish side. However, three second half strikes secured their third Champions League final in five seasons under the German.
"It feels like the first in 20 (years)," Klopp, who led Borussia Dortmund to the final of the competition in 2013, told BT Sport. "It's outstanding, because we obviously made it a little tricky for ourselves, but we knew these kind of things could happen."
Liverpool head to the final in Paris to face either Real Madrid or Manchester City, who play their second leg in Madrid on Wednesday with City holding a slender 4-3 lead on aggregate.
Klopp's side were shocked by Villarreal's aggressive man-marking in the first half which took them out of their own pressing game, and the coach conceded that
he struggled to find highlights from the opening 45 minutes to show his players.
"We knew what was wrong because it was obvious, but we didn't have a situation to show them where we got it right," Klopp explained.
"I said (to my staff) 'find one where do it well and we can show
it', and we come in and they said 'no, we don't have it.'"
The introduction of Colombian winger Luis Diaz at the break seemed to liven up Liverpool's attack as Fabinho, Diaz and Sadio Mane scored the goals that got them into the final.
"Obviously Luis, what a player he is, but it's not about who came on, it was about how we started to play," Klopp explained.
The 54-year-old coach said he had no preference for who his team would face in the final on May 28, saying "whoever it will be, it will be massive".
For opposite number Unai Emery it was the end of an epic Champions League campaign for Villarreal, who knocked out Juventus and Bayern Munich en route to the semi-finals.
"Tonight we showed everybody we are a good team as well, we can have chances... but the difference in two matches, in the first leg and the second leg was their excellence," the Spaniard said.
On the other side, striker Gerard Moreno said Villarreal should be proud of fighting spirit against Liverpool.
"Tonight is a night to be proud. The team believed until the end," an emotional Moreno said.
"The first-half was incredible, one of the best of the season. The match was put on the way we wanted, but physically the effort was noticeable and they are very good," the Villarreal forward added.
Villarreal had looked a shadow of themselves in the first leg at Anfield, but were a completely different team in Spain.
"We showed that we didn't arrive here for no reason," coach Unai Emery told reporters, disappointed that his team could not maintain the same rhythm after the break.
"We followed our plan, made an amazing first half but we ran out of gas in the second half. There was no more strength left to respond as they came out much better after the break."
Liverpool had exposed Villarreal's limitations in the first leg at Anfield as well as their limited options when faced with key injuries.
Villarreal stayed in the tie for around as long as star player Moreno stayed on the field.
Moreno, who has missed a chunk of this season, including the first leg in England, due to injury, was substituted early in the second half.
"We go out with our heads held high," he said.
"Our fans believed in us from the moment we arrived and we did our best to get to the final. People thought we weren't going to be able to get here. The word that best defines this team is pride."