Champions League Final: Jurgen Klopp asserts Liverpool will be back next year after Real Madrid defeat

It was dismay for English giants Liverpool, as it succumbed to a 0-1 defeat to Spanish champion Real Madrid in the final of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) 2021-22. Played at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday, the lone winner Vinicius Junior in the 59th minute, with Federico Valverde's assist, was enough to break the hearts of a million Reds' fans. The fans had already gone through a rough time before the kick-off, as they faced delays at entering the venue, resulting in the kick-off being postponed by 36 minutes. In the meantime, Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp was still impressed by his boys' performance and promised his side would be back to challenge for the title next year.

After the final loss, Klopp told BT Sport, "Everyone in the dressing room, nobody feels it was a great season at the moment. We probably need a few minutes for that, maybe hours. We played a good game, not the perfect game. We had a lot of shots but not the clearest, only three or so where [Thibaut] Courtois made top saves. Then, we conceded a goal. Vinicius was there, and that was it."

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However, Klopp later said that Madrid did not put up its A-performance, as its goalkeeper Courtois made most of the saves. "When the goalkeeper is the man of the match, then something is going wrong for the other team, so we had, I think, three huge chances where Courtois made incredible saves. I would have loved to have had a few more of this calibre," he speculated.

"I think Madrid had one shot on target, is that right? And that was a goal. But, look, I understand 100 per cent, and I respect 100 per cent, the reason for playing football and having these kinds of competitions is to win the game, and whatever you do – as long as it's in the rules – it's allowed, and you can do it. It's magnificent," concluded Klopp.