'Our all-inclusive football has got us to the final'
Jürgen Klopp feels Liverpool’s run to the final of the Champions League has been made possible by their brand of ‘all-inclusive football’.
The boss coined that phrase following the Reds’ thrilling 5-2 win over AS Roma in the first leg of their semi-final tie at Anfield last month.
On Saturday, Klopp will lead his side into the tournament’s showpiece match against Real Madrid in Kiev - something he believes would not have been possible had Liverpool attempted to play any other way.
“For me, it’s the easiest way to describe [our style]. My wife told me already that I’m kind of a drama in football, it’s always until the last second either in specific games or the season - I don’t like that too much but it’s obviously true,” the manager said.
“In the moment when you think the game is done, then Rome scores twice! But it’s no problem, we are still here, and we will learn from that, 100 per cent, and we learned a lot already.
“But now it’s clear, if we would’ve played like Juventus or would’ve tried to play like them, we would’ve gone out in the group stage. If we would’ve tried to play like Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid, whatever, we would’ve been out in the group stage.
Watch: LFC 5-2 Roma in 90 seconds
“So we have to be a little bit more lively than other teams because we have a lack of experience in comparison with the really big teams. For example, Real Madrid are a world-class team [and] we are a top-class team - there’s still a difference and if you are not on the same level, you have to invest more, you have to do more.
“Doing more can lead to more mistakes as well, but I don’t think at the moment there’s any alternative to that and that’s why we do it like we do it. But how I said, our game changed already plenty of times. We look more mature in different moments. In a few games it was a little bit of a mix of [being] unlucky and not 100 per cent concentrated, or the intensity of the season because we had obviously a few injury problems.
“But I really love that season so far because it was for us a big step. Last year we were fourth, had a final against Middlesbrough - nobody wanted that but we had it and we won it and it was cool and we celebrated it until we realised had to play against Hoffenheim.
“Everybody said it constantly over the year but we don’t play international football during the week - true. And this year we had international football and obviously our longest journey so far and we are still qualified for the Champions League, so for us it’s a big step and I really like that.
“How I said, [it’s a] good moment for Liverpool and now we have to round it up.”