Under the title "Klopp Reveals the Reason Behind Liverpool's Exit from the Champions League at the Hands of Real Madrid," Al Arabiya.net published an article citing Reuters about Liverpool's exit from the Champions League against Zidane's men. Liverpool failed to make up for their 3-1 loss in the first leg against Real Madrid and settled for a goalless draw at home on Wednesday, thus bidding farewell to the UEFA Champions League. Coach Jürgen Klopp had no doubts about the reasons. The defeat could have been compensated in the first 20 minutes given the chances created by Liverpool. The poor performance in the first leg made the task at Anfield even more difficult, and the lack of efficiency ended any hope for the team.
The German coach said: “You always need crucial moments. We didn't lose the tie tonight; we lost it in Madrid. The situation was not comfortable in Madrid. We were good, played fiercely, and had the chances. We didn’t score, and then the experience of Real Madrid decided the match.”
Mohamed Salah squandered two early chances, and the attacking trio formed by the Egyptian player with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane looked far from their best in the last two seasons. Klopp said: "We know Mohamed Salah can finish these chances with his eyes closed. That didn’t happen. But we exited the competition."
James Milner, Liverpool's midfielder, believes that the team entered the match with the right spirit but agreed with his coach that the final touch let the team down. He added: "The performance, intensity, and desire were all good. But we didn’t capitalize on our chances, and that's the difference. We definitely played better and did enough to win the game. We wanted to start the match and set the pace from the beginning. If we had played with this intensity in the first leg, the situation would have been completely different. Overall, we weren’t good across both matches."
Liverpool's situation could worsen if they fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, as they currently sit in sixth place, which would be a severe economic blow to the club. Klopp stated: "We love this competition, and for other reasons, it's important to qualify for it. Now we can focus on the league, and we will do that."
