Liverpool gave up two goals as they lost 5-2 to Real Madrid in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie at Anfield on Tuesday evening. The home side were two goals up after just 14 minutes of play but conceded five goals from the Spanish giants later in the game.
After the match, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp reveals why his team lost to Los Blancos despite being two goals up.
“The beginning was outstanding. It was us in a nutshell. It was perfect, exactly how we wanted to play,” Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said.
“The whole first half was good beside the goals. The first goal we became slightly passive higher up the pitch, we weren’t chasing them. The second goal is slapstick. It shouldn’t happen, can happen, 2-2. The first situation pretty much [after the break] they played a long ball to Vinicius. Not sure if it’s a foul. How we defend that is not OK.
“Then 3-2 and that doesn’t help against a team who are outstanding on the counter-attack. We couldn’t get back on track any more. You need to play like the first half for the full 95 minutes but you need momentum back.
“At 3-2 it was the opposite. They became more confident and scored great goals. One was deflected. That’s how it is. It’s a strange one.
“There’s a lot for me to take from this as well. We have five or six players and no challenge [for one of the goals]. That can’t happen. We were passive until the ball arrived there.
“The only way you can slow down the game a bit is to keep the ball. We started the second half losing the ball in strange moments. This space [for the third goal] that’s not possible but it happened. That’s why it’s 3-2. You have to keep the momentum and there we lost it and we didn’t get it back.
“We will go there and play a football game. It will be a massive challenge. But we have to play in the Premier League first and make sure we learn from this game.”
