Liverpool striker Divock Origi has revealed that a half-time pep talk by manager Juergen Klopp motivated his teammates in their thrilling 4-3 win over German challengers Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League second leg quarterfinal clash here at Anfield.
Early strikes from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang helped Dortmund open up a 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes. Origi reduced the margin after half-time, but the Germans soon restored the two-goal cushion through Marco Reus. However, Liverpool then conjured up a dream finish as Philippe Coutinho, Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren struck within the space of 24 frantic minutes to seal a 5-4 win on aggregate.
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The match evoked memories of Liverpool's historic comeback win over Italian giants AC Milan in the final of the 2005 Champions League.
"The manager was very calm, surprisingly calm," Origi said of Klopp's demeanour in the dressing room at half-time.
"That's the class of a big manager. You could see no panic, no stress, he believed in us and in the end it helped," the 20-year-old added.
"He gives us belief and we tried to reward that, the belief of the fans, everything."
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The Belgium international revealed that Klopp prodded on the Liverpool players to make the occasion a memorable one for fans and for future generations.
"The manager just said that we lived to play in evenings like this. We had nothing to lose. We just had to go. We had to play and show our qualities and believe in ourselves and at the end we could win," Origi said.
"It was a special evening," he added.
"At half-time, he told us we just had to do everything to make it a special evening to tell your children and grandchildren."
