Football
Glenn Price, Liverpool correspondent 6y

Jurgen Klopp the 'opposite of fine' after Liverpool's defeat to Real Madrid

KIEV, Ukraine -- Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he was the "opposite of fine" after his side fell 3-1 to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

Real secured their third successive European Cup with a 3-1 victory over Klopp's side at the NSC Olimpiyskiy on Saturday evening.

Liverpool, in their first Champions League final for 11 years, suffered a huge blow when they lost Mohamed Salah inside the opening 30 minutes to what Klopp called a "serious injury," before goalkeeper Loris Karius committed two errors that directly led to opposition goals.

"I'm not fine, I'm the opposite of fine, but I try to be professional," said Klopp, who has now lost his last six finals as a manager, at his postmatch news conference.

"I said it a few times, I'm turning 51 next month or so, I lost games in my life before, I won games in my life before -- I know how to deal with that.

"What you cannot avoid is the feeling you have the night after the game. We all feel really, really bad, and the way home will not be the best trip we ever had in our life, but we have to accept it now.

"We wanted everything and got nothing, or minus-something with the injury of Mo. He didn't play the final, we lost a very important player, like probably Egypt lost a very important player.

"At the end, it's a football game, we tried everything to win it, that's why I wouldn't change anything in my preparations. I did the best I could and it was not good enough and I have to accept that, that's it."

Karius was in tears at full-time as he made gestures of apology to Liverpool's travelling supporters. The shot-stopper was at fault for the opening goal in the final as his attempted roll-out in the 51st minute struck Karim Benzema and ended up in the back of the net.

Sadio Mane then equalised for Liverpool before second-half substitute Gareth Bale scored a spectacular bicycle kick to restore Real's lead.

Karius then failed to deal with Bale's long-range shot seven minutes from time to hand Zinedine Zidane's team an unassailable 3-1 lead.

"I have only very, very few words after the game but it's nothing to talk about," Klopp said. "I really feel for him, nobody wants that, [but] that's the situation. The mistakes were obvious, we don't have to talk about that, it's all clear; he knows it, I know it, you all know it.

"Now, he has to deal with it, we have to deal with, we will do that -- of course we will be with him, there's no doubt about that. It was not his night, obviously."

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