Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp felt mistakes cost his team after they ceded a two-goal lead and lost 5-2 to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah scored early as the Reds flew out of the blocks at Anfield on Tuesday night, but Real responded and were back on level terms at the break through a Vinicius Jr brace.
Eder Militao made it 3-2 in the opening minutes of the second half, before Karim Benzema struck twice to earn Carlo Ancelotti’s side a commanding advantage heading into the second leg in Madrid next month.
“I really think everything was pretty obvious tonight; I think we gave all five goals away and that means we could have done better there, but they were all obviously different,” said Klopp after the game as quoted by his club’s website.
“The start in the game, in our situation where we are, it is really important that we see positive steps – and I think the first half was, besides the two goals we conceded, the best we’ve played for probably the whole season. I liked it a lot. OK, the second goal, we cannot defend better because it is a slapstick [moment], but it equalled pretty much our second goal that we scored.
“The first goal we conceded we have to defend better, there were enough players around, nobody puts a foot in and stuff like this. It’s very tight and it is just a world-class moment from Vinicius then as well, but I think it is obvious we can defend it better.
“Half-time, [it was] rather positive, to be honest. You think, ‘OK, this happened… we have to play in this and that space, if we keep doing that they will have problems…’ and then we start with conceding the third goal, which was a horrible goal and today it was pretty much the game-changer. We lost the momentum in that moment and never really got it back.
“In the first half we could have scored a third one, we had our moments, we were a bit unlucky with the scrappy situation in the six-yard box. In the second half, the game was the game Real Madrid wanted to play. Both of the other goals they scored, one is deflected and they are not really well defended, to be honest. We lose the ball in the wrong moment, which is obviously a massive problem against Real Madrid with the counter-attacking threat they have and that’s how it came to the result. That’s it,” added the German mentor.
On Real coach Ancelotti saying he doesn’t believe the tie is over, Klopp said: “I think Carlo thinks the tie is over – and I think it as well in the moment, but in three weeks… it’s how it is in these moments, the closer you get to the game the bigger our chances become and the less likely it is the tie is over. Tonight, with the 5-2 and you see the game, they are pretty good in counter-attacking and we have to score three goals there and take some risk, so that could be a bit tricky. It is really not even in my mind. We go there, I can say it now already, and try to win the game. If that is possible or not, I don’t know now but that’s what we will try and from there we will see.”
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