The head coach of Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, after the lost UEFA Europa League final, sought reasons why his team played poorly in the second half and added that the match referees did not make decisions that could have brought them more benefit.
On Wednesday evening in Switzerland, the 2016 Europa League final took place. Liverpool, looking powerful in the first half after an amazing goal by Daniel Sturridge, took the lead, but in the second half Sevilla showed champion character and scored three goals, which determined the Spanish triumph in the tournament.
"In the second half, the ball belonged to them. They scored goals, they were fired up and reached their goal. When you are not focused enough, the first goal can absolutely mean nothing. What happened to us was that we probably lost faith in our game. We were not compact, did not defend well and were a bit lost," said J. Klopp.
In the first half, there was a lot of frustration, and especially Liverpool fans were outraged by the match referee Jonas Eriksson, who did not notice Sevilla players' handball in the penalty area in several episodes. Klopp remembered these episodes and felt disappointment.
"Over the past years, I have lost more than one final. I think this will finally end, and we need to play more finals. However, today there were two decisions that were not in our favor. Whatever happened there, I want to remain self-critical and not blame anything for the loss," added the strategist.
