On his reflections on the game and the outcome…
It was the best game of football I was ever involved in. I don’t have the history like Liverpool as a manager, but [it was] two teams of an incredible level [at] an incredible intensity. The first 25 minutes… OK, I also remember the first 25 minutes against Man City at home and the first 25 against [Real] Madrid, but this was unbelievable what we showed in the first 25. I looked at the scoreboard and we were 1-0 down. Over 90 minutes I don’t think we deserved to lose this game of football today. Over 180 minutes, maybe it was deserved that we went to overtime. In overtime I thought Paris Saint-Germain was a bit better than us in this half-hour and then it comes down to penalties and they scored four, us one and we lost.
On whether being eliminated will ‘come as a shock to the system’ for the players after such an outstanding season so far…
Of course it is a shock. Maybe it is not the moment to tell them [the players] now – and I didn’t tell them as well – but I can say it here: last season we weren’t involved in the Champions League and two seasons ago Liverpool went out against Madrid after losing 5-2 at home. So, if – if, if – you have to go out then go out in the way like we did against one of the best teams in Europe, making such a fight out of it. I hope and think every fan around the world was hoping this game would just keep on going, it wouldn’t stop, because it was incredible. They in the end won and for us, it is so, so, so unlucky if you are No.1 in the league table that you then face Paris Saint-Germain, which is one of the best teams in Europe, but that’s the format we are in. We have to accept it and we will come back stronger next season.
