Jürgen Klopp on Liverpool's Europa League final defeat
Jürgen Klopp offered his reaction to Liverpool's 3-1 defeat against Sevilla in the Europa League final on Wednesday night. Here's what he said to reporters in Basel in his post-match press conference…
On his overview of the game…
It was obvious the first goal of Sevilla had a big influence on our own game. In this moment we lost faith in our style of play. We changed from passing simply and quickly to complicated. We lost our formation, so it was not compact anymore. We’ve had this situation one or two times before; as I said in the Chelsea game, we were quite happy we had the problem there. That was a good moment to put the finger in and change it. The first half was OK and we deserved the 1-0 [lead]. Sevilla played a lot of long balls to avoid our pressing game. We did OK but not as good as we can. This is interview number 10 or 12 that I’ve had [post-game] and everybody has told me about two handballs in the first half. Today there were four decisive decisions I would say, maybe a few more, but very obvious decisions that went against us. In a final, when it’s clear it is close, you need a little bit of luck. We didn’t. We have no influence on this, but where we have influence on is our game and so now we are disappointed and frustrated, 100 per cent.
Tomorrow, in a week or whatever we will see it a little bit more clearly and then we will use this experience. That’s what we have to do. Now it’s clear we are not in a European competition next year, it means no football on a Thursday and it means we have time to train. We will use it and we will come back stronger, that’s for sure. You saw on the way to the final we had a few moments where we maybe over-performed – we were unbelievable, great and the boys showed what they are capable of, but then to have this consistency you need a little bit more time. They are still young and this was their first big final – unfortunately their second [losing] final of the season, but it was a big final and we will use this experience together. Then someday everybody will say Basel was a very decisive moment for the wonderful future of Liverpool FC.
On Liverpool's second-half performance…
I saw it, so I tried to change it but you could see it was not only the team that was shocked about this situation; maybe the crowd was shocked about the situation [too]. Everything changed in this moment. We had a wonderful atmosphere until it went to 1-1, but then Sevilla took the game and we defended not good. For the first goal, usually it’s not good to concede a goal immediately after half-time but you have 44 minutes minimum to strike back, so what’s the problem? The reaction was the problem. We all have to learn to react better in situations like this. This game, especially in my situation as the manager of the team, all you have to do is self-criticism. Nothing else. It’s all about us, it’s all about me. It’s my job to help the players react better in different situations, so I can improve a lot.
On what Liverpool need to do to improve in his second season...
To use the time, to use the experience – that’s what we have to do. Time to train. We will still use the break and hopefully they all come back healthy and we have no injury problems from the first day of pre-season. It will be a long tournament [Euro 2016] for a lot of my players – the Belgian players, the English players, the German player. They can stay in the tournament for a long time and then have a short break and then they will start again. To use the time, that’s it. Of course, this team will be a little bit different next year, that’s clear. We will do something with transfers, that’s clear. But, first of all, we need to use the experience because I am sure we will be in a final again and we will have decisive moments again. And if we have decisive moments then we have to react better, all of us.
On how the Reds could have shored it up in the second half...
We had a lot of moments, if you saw us a lot, where you really could see we play really good football; [we know] where we run, where we have to move, where we pass, and how we have to protect the situation. If you saw then after 1-1 when we passed through small channels and lost the ball – you cannot protect situations like this because you are surprised about [losing the ball]. You have to run in the wrong direction facing your own goal and it’s not the same as the other direction. We have to do it more often, we have to work on it. It’s not a wonder or something, it’s pure work and that’s what the job is.
On whether football has been unfair to him...
Unfair, I don’t know. There are more important things than football in life. I don’t think that God has the plan for me that I can go to the final and then always get a knock. Sometimes the way is a bit harder. I have a lot of luck in my life that I sit here and I am the manager of Liverpool FC. I do not think I am an unlucky person or life was not fair to me. Tonight was not too lucky, that’s true, and the other finals weren’t too lucky, that’s true. But we will carry on and I will carry on and there will be another final and you will tell me I lost the last five finals. I will be prepared for this moment. I’m not sure that’s a good answer but you can believe that I will try with all I have to reach the next final even when I know you can lose it. It’s like this. There are bigger problems in life but in this moment it doesn’t feel like this, it’s really hard.