Jürgen Klopp on Real Madrid final: 'We'll go there and give it a try'
Jürgen Klopp offered his reaction to Liverpool being paired with Real Madrid in this season’s Champions League final, but insisted his side would not look ahead to the game until all domestic fixtures were completed.
Twenty-four hours after the Reds booked their place in the Paris showpiece by defeating Villarreal, Madrid overcame Manchester City in an electric encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The teams will now meet at the Stade de France on May 28 in a re-run of the 2018 final in Kyiv, which the Spanish club won 3-1.
Speaking at his pre-Tottenham Hotspur press conference on Friday afternoon, Klopp said: "When we lost that final, actually my favourite solution would’ve been let's play the final again next year and against Real Madrid, to be honest - that was in that moment. But we faced Tottenham, which was absolutely fine, in Madrid.
“It seems to be our destiny. It was strange and unlucky for [Manchester] City, but what Madrid did is outstanding. They got through against PSG, Chelsea and City. We said it before we played Villarreal, if you knockout Bayern you deserve to be in the semi-final - and if you knockout these three guys, then you definitely deserve to be in the final.
“They are now the massive favourites with all the experience they have and all these kind of things. We are more experienced than we were, probably, but it's obviously not to compare. A lot of players are still in for them and for us, which is a good sign as well.
“It will be great. We were not happy that night, that's clear, but it is a while ago. I'm happy to go there and give it a try, but until then, there are a lot of games to play and you will ask so many questions about Real Madrid between now and then, so I think we can stop here.
“What Carlo did there is absolutely incredible - and if you go to a final, I think it's good to have the idea that you want to win it and that's what we will work on in the week between the 22nd and the 28th, not before."