The Liverpool camp experieced great heartache after having been given hope when Sturridge opened the scoring with a stunning outside of the boot finish. However, the Reds’ capitulation in the second half left a bitter taste in the mouth for the Liverpool fans, with a large portion of the blame being apportioned to former Sevilla left-back Alberto Moreno.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp:
Klopp bemoaned the timing of Sevilla’s goal, claiming it damaged Liverpool mentally, saying “It was obvious the first goal of Sevilla had a big influence on our own game. In this moment we lost faith in our style of play. We changed from passing simply and quickly to complicated. We lost our formation, so it was not compact anymore.”
The German manager also was disconsolate with the refereeing in the final, noting that the Reds were denied four clear handballs, “This is interview number 10 or 12 that I’ve had [post-game] and everybody has told me about two handballs in the first half. Today there were four decisive decisions I would say, maybe a few more, but very obvious decisions that went against us.
“In a final, when it’s clear it is close, you need a little bit of luck. We didn’t. We have no influence on this, but where we have influence on is our game and so now we are disappointed and frustrated, 100 per cent.”
However Klopp sounded a note of hope, noting the youthful nature of his Liverpool squad, saying “They are still young and this was their first big final – unfortunately their second [losing] final of the season, but it was a big final and we will use this experience together. Then someday everybody will say Basel was a very decisive moment for the wonderful future of Liverpool FC.”
Liverpool vice-captain James Milner:
James Milner was critical of Liverpool’s second half performance, saying “ It's devastating losing the game, but I think the most disappointing thing is that we didn't show [anywhere] near what we're about. [We] didn't play anywhere near our abilities and that's probably the biggest thing for me.”
Milner also noted that Liverpool cold learn from their final experiences, saying “We've been to two finals this year and not managed to get over the line, so we need to learn from that and make sure that next time we get there we finish the job.”
Referencing the comeback to Dortmund, Milner said “We've shown that character time and time again in this competition, but tonight we couldn't do that," Milner told BT Sport in the immediate aftermath. That's disappointing. When you leave yourselves too much to do one too many times, it's pretty difficult to do it time and time again.”
“It will take a long time to get over this but we have to regroup, take what belief we can and learn from what we can.”
