Jurgen Klopp hailed his Liverpool players’ in the Camp Nou, calling it “best away Champions League performance” despite losing 3-0 to Barcelona.
Lionel Messi scored twice to put Barcelona in pole position of their Champions League semi-final but Liverpool controlled large periods of the clash, recording 15 shots on goal.
James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah all went close for the unfortunate Reds, who lacked Barcelona’s kind of killer instinct in front of goal.
“It’s okay to lose away in the Champions League as long as you score a goal, we didn’t and that’s a problem,” Klopp said.
“That makes our life not easy. My boys gained a lot of respect again for the way they played and how they’ve developed. I had so much fun watching that game but we lost it. That’s not fun. But I’ve been in this business for a long time and I have learned to accept.”
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Klopp added: “These boys never give up. I love that. But there’s no party in that dressing room. We will use the game to show the boys how important it was for their development. I really think it was the best away game we’ve played in the Champions League – it’s an important message for us.”
Messi took the game away from Liverpool with two goals in seven minutes.
His free-kick to make it 3-0 – his 600th goal for Barcelona – will live long in the memory and Klopp admitted there was little his team could have done to stop him in that situation.
“In those moments, he is unstoppable – we couldn’t defend the free-kick,” Klopp said.
“He’s a world-class player. His second goal wasn’t the greatest goal in the career of Lionel Messi but it shows his skills. He is there in that moment.
“I was happy with how we defended against all of the Barca team, including Messi. I am a bit admirer of him but my boys didn’t show too much respect. They tried with completely legal things, we played football. Messi is spectacular”
