Speaking shortly after Liverpool’s 3-1 Europa League final loss to Sevilla, Jurgen Klopp vowed his side would “come back stronger”.
Klopp watched the Reds limp to a deflating defeat at Basel’s St. Jakob-Park, with Daniel Sturridge‘s excellent opener cancelled out by a Kevin Gameiro strike 20 seconds into the second half.
Sevilla captain Coke added a brace to give Unai Emery’s side their third successive Europa League title, leaving Klopp and his side despondent at full-time.
But speaking to BT Sport after the game, Klopp gave a measured summary, promising to utilise the experience of defeat to bounce back.
“Our development is not as good as we hoped,” he said.
“That’s the information from tonight.
“We have to carry on, we have to use this experience, and then we can be stronger.
“I’m sure that we will be stronger, if we use it in the right way. But for tonight, it’s disappointment and frustration.”
Liverpool’s limp display belied the buildup to Wednesday night’s final, with thousands of supporters flooding to Switzerland to back the Reds and drive them to victory.
Despite the travelling Kop roaring them on throughout, the Reds looked like they lacked the belief to win—something Klopp chalked down to inexperience.
“I don’t expect [belief], they need to have it,” he continued.
“We have been together seven months now, and in a few moments it was enough time, in a few others it was not enough time.
“So it’s still a little bit that we’re surprised about our good things, and when we have bad things we think ‘ah, that’s how it is usually’.
“We had wonderful situations in this time together, and tonight not enough.
“We couldn’t reach our level, and it’s my job to help the boys to see there’s opportunity, to not feel the pressure too much.”
But despite this disappointment, and in particular being without European football in 2016/17, Klopp vowed to push his side for success in the future.
As he continued, this could come with extra time on the training field afforded by a less congested fixture list.
“We have to use the time,” he explained.
“It’s not about the size of the squad, how many players we have.
“It’s about using the time for training to get better, using this experience from tonight.
“I promise everybody we will use this experience, we will come back stronger, 100 percent.”
Klopp, his side and the Liverpool supporters are right to be deflated following this defeat, but as the German’s second final in just over seven months on Merseyside, it is clear he is building positively.
The Reds must now retreat, lick their wounds, and as Klopp puts it, come back stronger for next season.
Fan Comments