Jurgen Klopp was close to tears after his side’s unforgettable 4-0 win over Barcelona on Tuesday, singling out Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s “genius” assist.
Anfield has witnessed its fair share of spectacular evenings, particularly in Europe, but this one surely topped the lot.
Liverpool took on Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final second leg with a 3-0 deficit but turned the tie on its head in stunning fashion.
Divock Origi and Gini Wijnaldum both scored twice, etching their names into Reds folklore amid scenes of ecstasy inside Anfield.
Liverpool have now secured their place in a second Champions League final in a row, where they will meet either Ajax or Tottenham on June 1.
Speaking to BT Sport after the game, a clearly emotional Klopp couldn’t give his players enough praise, admitting he was bordering on speechless:
“The whole performance and the whole game was actually too much. It was overwhelming.
“I actually said to the boys before the game that it would [normally] be impossible, but because it’s you, we have a chance.
“I’ve watched so many football games in my life and I cannot remember a lot like this, playing against maybe the best team in the world.
“Winning is already difficult, but winning with a clean sheet…I don’t know how the boys did it. These boys are fucking mentality giants, it’s unbelievable.
“I saw James Milner crying after the game on the pitch, it means so much to all of us. You could see the faces in the stadium. It’s the best place for football.
“There are more important things in the world, but creating this atmosphere together is so special.
“It’s all about the players, though. The mix of potential and unbelievable heart is a mix I never saw before. It just show what’s possible in football.”
The Liverpool boss, who has now reached three European finals in his four seasons at Anfield – never losing a two-leg tie, also spoke about the standout moment from the game.
Alexander-Arnold’s quick thinking from a corner allowed Origi to sweep home a memorable tie-winning strike and Klopp couldn’t get enough of the youngster’s assist:
“Oh my god!
“We had to be serious when we had the ball but we needed to be cheeky as well, it was really necessary.
“Barcelona defend all the predictable things well so you need to be unpredictable in those moments.
“That moment, I saw the ball flying in the goal but I didn’t see the corner—Ben Woodburn looked at me and said, ‘what happened?’
“It’s unbelievable, what a situation. It’s just a genius moment.”
It was a quite remarkable evening on Merseyside, with supporters left with a very different feeling to the flat one present on Monday night, following Man City‘s win over Leicester.
While Premier League glory looks like it could evade Liverpool once again, this team merits winning a trophy this season.
It is wonderful to have two stabs at silverware in the coming weeks and Klopp and his players deserve to go down in history as an all-time great Reds side.
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