Toure reveals sadness for supporters after final defeat

Despite taking a first-half lead against Sevilla in Basel, courtesy of a sublime outside-of-the-boot Daniel Sturridge strike, it became a Wednesday night to forget for the Reds.

The reigning title-holders responded immediately after the interval through Kevin Gameiro and built an unassailable lead when Coke subsequently struck twice.

Toure performed admirably at St. Jakob-Park but felt only disappointment that Kopites could not enjoy a first piece of silverware since 2012.

He told Liverpoolfc.com: “I feel really sad because I wanted to give this trophy to the fans.

“I have a special relationship with them and I really, really wanted to give them the trophy.

“Unfortunately, this is part of the game. You do everything but it is not enough. The team gave everything, to be honest, but that’s part of the game.”

The defender continued: “[It was] very, very tough [to take]. In the first half we played well and could have scored two or three goals. We didn’t.

“And in the second half a lack of concentration in the first 20 seconds, we left [Ever] Banega – one of their best players – to break into the middle.

“After that, [it was] an easy cross and an easy goal. From that we lost confidence, we lost concentration, we lost our calmness and then they scored a second goal as well. [Then] a third goal, and the game was nearly finished.

“They are a good team, they have a lot of experience and in the second half they played very well. But we will learn from that.

“The manager has only been in charge for [seven] months and we have played in two finals, which is very good. We have a young team and we’ll learn from defeat to be better next season.

“The future is bright at Liverpool.

“We have good staff, a good manager and great young players. Maybe the manager will bring a few players that he thinks can improve the team. This team will be really strong next season.”