)
Klopp praised his team's first-half performance in the defeat against Real Madrid and says his team would go into the second-leg to compete.
Jurgen Klopp believes a momentum shift was the reason his team lost against Real Madrid, praising what he painted as a perfect first-half and saying his team lost momentum along the way and struggled to get it back.
Real Madrid won 5-2 on Tuesday night at Anfield after Liverpool lost a two-goal lead, giving Real Madrid the edge going into the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Liverpool wilted along the way
Liverpool took the lead right away thanks to a goal from Darwin Nunez in the fourth minute, and Mohamed Salah increased their advantage ten minutes later.
)
In the game's 21st minute, Vinicius scored for the visitors to begin their comeback; and in the game's 36th minute, he levelled the score.
Just after halftime, Eder Militao handed Los Blancos their first-ever lead in the match. Karim Benzema's goal in the 55th minute extended the lead even further, and in the 81st minute, thanks to a fortunate deflection that made the score 5-2, the visitors put distance between themselves and their hosts.
Speaking to BT Sports after the game, Jurgen Klopp analysed the encounter, breaking it into halves in which he believes his side were dominant in the first part.
He further broke down the goals his team conceded, implying that complacency after being two goals up led to conceding the first. The second, he had no patience in making excuses for flagging it as unacceptable.
"The beginning was outstanding. It was us in a nutshell. It was perfect, exactly how we wanted to play. The whole first half was good besides the goals,” he told BT Sports, per the BBC.
"The first goal we became slightly passive higher up the pitch, we weren't chasing them. The second goal is slapstick. It shouldn't happen, can happen, 2-2.
)
"The first situation pretty much [after the break] they played a long ball to Vinicius. Not sure if it's a foul. How we defend that is not OK. Then 3-2 and that doesn't help against a team who are outstanding on the counter-attack.
Klopp explained that conceding the third goal caused his team to lose momentum in the tie, after which they never regained a foothold. He thought getting third inspired Real Madrid to be more daring and ruthless while his team were inert and flat-footed.
"We couldn't get back on track any more. You need to play like the first half for the full 95 minutes but you need momentum back.
"At 3-2 it was the opposite. They became more confident and scored great goals. One was deflected. That's how it is. It's a strange one.
"There's a lot for me to take from this as well.
"We have five or six players and no challenge [for one of the goals]. That can't happen. We were passive until the ball arrived there.
"The only way you can slow down the game a bit is to keep the ball. We started the second half losing the ball in strange moments.
Klopp on the second-leg
Klopp says his team will initially concentrate on their upcoming Premier League games rather than thinking about the second leg.
)
However, the German tactician refuses to write off the tie despite a three-goal deficit. Although he admitted it would be challenging, he revealed that his team would go to Madrid to compete.
"We will go there and play a football game. It will be a massive challenge. But we have to play in the Premier League first and make sure we learn from this game."
Liverpool play four Premier League games before the return leg. They would host Wolverhampton and Manchester united, and travel away to face Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)