Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp meets the media during a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match against Real Madrid at Anfield, Liverpool on February 20, 2023. Photo Credit: Peter Byrne
Jurgen Klopp hopes Liverpool have turned the corner at the right time for Real Madrid’s trip to Anfield to play in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie – a repeat last season finale,
Madrid were crowned European champions for the 14th time in Paris after a 1–0 victory in a match marred by organizational failures on the part of UEFA and the French authorities. who put the safety of fans at risk,
Liverpool, who missed out on an unprecedented quadruple last season, have suffered a domestic cup hangover during the current campaign and are 19 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
But back-to-back wins over Everton and Newcastle have lifted the mood around Anfield and give Klopp’s men a shot at qualifying for the Champions League next season through a top-four finish in the English top flight Have given.
“It’s the Champions League, it’s one of the biggest sports in the world. It will be a top football game and I’m really happy that we can play it,” Klopp said at Monday’s pre-match press conference.
“If it was four weeks ago it might have been different, but life is about timing and maybe we found our feet at the right time for this game.
“Now we have these two results and hopefully we can build on it, but we need to play two super games.”
Madrid has been the winner of the Champions League three times in the last five seasons to Liverpool.
The European champions won the 2018 final 3–1 in Kyiv and a quarter-final tie between the sides in 2020/2021 by the same score on aggregate.
‘The final was fair torture’: Klopp
But Carlo Ancelotti’s men rode their luck to win in Paris, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois winning the man of the match award for a series of spectacular saves.
“We played this final in Paris and I haven’t seen it since then until this weekend,” Klopp said. “Now I know why I didn’t see it back. It was torture justified because we played well and could have won the game.”
“They scored a decisive goal, we didn’t and that was the reason. You can see in this game how experienced Madrid are. How little they bother when the other team has chances.
“They don’t lose confidence for a second, that’s what you can learn from them.”
Fans shouldn’t be blamed for the 2022 finals chaos
An independent report into the chaos surrounding the 2022 final published last week absolved fans of any responsibility.
European football’s governing body UEFA and the French authorities were blamed for failures “that almost led to disaster”.
But Klopp believes those scenes should not impact on Tuesday’s clash, as there was no animosity between sets of supporters or clubs.
“I don’t think we need the Paris match to make it a special match,” Klopp said.
“As players we lost the game and that’s the good thing about sport – we want to make things right. That’s what we try to do. Real Madrid or our guys had no responsibility.
“If that game had not happened, it would have been a big game last night. Our people are football people and Real Madrid is in the city. Celebrate this event in the best possible way.”