Kiev: Devastated Jurgen Klopp admitted he was shell-shocked by Loris Karius’s costly mistakes in Liverpool’s 1-3 Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid, Saturday.
Liverpool goalkeeper Karius played a huge role in his side’s misery in Kiev as he gifted Madrid two goals. He was in tears after the final whistle, but tellingly not one of Liverpool’s shattered players went over to immediately console him.
Only Madrid’s jubilant stars acknowledged the German’s angst before, still sobbing uncontrollably, he went toward Liverpool’s supporters to hold his hands up in an attempt to apologise for his blunders.
While he wouldn’t publicly condemn Karius, Reds boss Klopp made it clear the difference in the match was the mistakes made by the man he signed from Mainz in 2016.
“Yeah, what can I say? Loris knows it, everybody knows it. It’s a shame, in a game like this and after a season like this. I really feel for him, he is a fantastic boy,” Klopp said.
Klopp also admitted the loss of Liverpool’s 44-goal star Mo Salah was a huge blow to his team’s confidence. “The situation with Ramos and Mo was really bad a shock for the team. You could see that, Madrid immediately came up,” he said.
On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo was talking about Real Madrid in the past tense. Real’s biggest star hinted he was unsure he’d stay with the club. Its best player in the Champions League final, Gareth Bale, looks more likely to be departing.
“In the next few days I’ll give the fans an answer because they are the ones who have always been by my side and it was very beautiful to be with Madrid,” Ronaldo said. Keeping up the cryptic tone, he added: “The future of any player is not important. We made history.”
Jurgen Klopp has now lost six consecutive finals as a coach, which includes 2013 Champions League final to Bayern, 2014 German Cup final to the same oppositions, 2015 German Cup final to Wolfsburg (all with Borussia Dortmund) and with Liverpool, 2016 League Cup final to Manchester City, 2016 Europa League final to Sevilla and now Champions League final to Real
