The Reds, facing a three-goal deficit from last Wednesday’s first leg at Camp Nou, scored four times without reply to earn their spot in the Champions League final for the second season in succession.
Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum each netted twice as perhaps the greatest European night in Anfield’s history unfolded.
Read on for a summary of the boss’ post-match press conference…
On where the game ranks in his football experience…
It’s a special night, very special. Winning against Barcelona is obviously one of the most difficult things in the world of football; winning against Barcelona when you are actually 3-0 down makes it not easier. We had to score four goals and it was not allowed to concede pretty much. That made it, again, more difficult. So we didn’t really think about it, to be 100 per cent honest. We tried to build on the performance at Barcelona, all the good things we did there, and tried to win the game step by step. We have the ball, we attack with whatever we have – they have the ball, we defend with whatever we have. And that made it a really special game. It was really difficult to play against us tonight.
What the boys did – this mix, again, of big heart and football skills – is unbelievable. But then, how we know – and we didn’t learn it in the first game, we knew it before already – if you have chances you have to score because otherwise you get punished. Tonight we scored, in different ways. I said it so often now, the thing that made it really possible – and I said to the boys before the game, ‘I don’t think it’s possible but because it’s you I think we have a chance’ – is because they are really mentality giants.
It’s unbelievable after the season we played, the games we had, the injuries we have now in this moment. If you go out there and ask who bet a penny on us, I don’t think you’ll find a lot of people. And then going out there and putting a performance like this on the pitch is unbelievable. I’m really proud to be the manager of this team. What they did tonight is so special and I will remember it forever. I don’t know if it happened before and I don’t know if it can happen again. The boys did it and it was brilliant.
Watch: Players and fans sing YNWA after Barcelona win
On being two wins away from one trophy and possibly two…
Of course, we go to the final last year and when we were in Kiev it was not brilliant. The plan was to go to Madrid and get it in there finally. That was the plan. Now we go there in three weeks’ time – that’s like we had in the summer [for pre-season], so I’m really looking forward to that.
With the Premier League nothing changed really – we knew we have to win the game against Wolves and then we will see what happens around. Obviously tonight was really intense and we started without Bobby, Mo and Naby, Ox was not available but only we rested him – he’ll hopefully be an option for the weekend. Hendo got an unbelievable kick against his knee, and Robbo got the heel of Suarez against his calf. You saw both limping; then Virg goes down, then Sadio goes down, and you think, ‘OK, it would help if we could finish the game with 11!’ So we will see, we’ll try to collect the bones and go again against Wolves.
On Liverpool’s performance…
I thought we were really difficult to play tonight. We had one or two nights like this before. We thought our performance was better than 3-0 at Barca, and tonight probably Barca’s performance was better than the 4-0 here – but it’s a competition where you have to score the goals. They didn’t, we did tonight, we scored one more. We all know you need luck in this situation, or a genius moment like Trent Alexander-Arnold [for the fourth goal]. I saw the ball flying into the net and I had no idea who took the corner and who scored because it was too quick for me. Now I saw it back and it’s just incredibly smart, two players connected – in this moment it was enough. My God, genius.
On the influence of the crowd on the result…
We know this club is the mix of atmosphere, emotion, desire and football quality. Cut off one and it doesn’t work – we know that. I’ve said it before. If I have to describe this club then it’s a big heart and tonight it was obviously like crazy, pounding like crazy. You could hear it and probably feel it all over the world. I’m so happy we could give the people this experience and I’m really happy about having another chance to get things right from our point of view.
On whether he knew his players were capable of overturning the score…
How can you be sure before a game? I said to the boys, ‘I think it’s impossible but because it’s you we have a chance.’ And we believed in this chance. We didn’t compare it with Istanbul or whatever. We said from the beginning, we want to create our own history – not because we are not happy about having the history of the club, no, because we need new chapters obviously. And the boys did it already, that’s unbelievable.
I know what people say about me and losing finals, that’s absolutely right and OK and everything. But it’s the fourth final in that time as well we are in, that’s pretty special already. Last year we really felt we have to go back – we have to go back, we cannot let it stand like this, that’s not possible. Now we get another chance and we will go for that, of course. I’m not sure if it will happen again because it’s so special. When I saw the boys after the game and saw the tears in their eyes, that’s football and they are professionals and it’s still like this. This club touches you like crazy, it’s like you feel much more than others in these moments. It’s really great, I love it.