Liverpool came back from the dead to beat Dortmund 4-3 in a thrilling encounter at Anfield. The game brought back memories of Istanbul as Jurgen Klopp and his men acheived the impossible. The Reds were 3-1 down in the second half but goals from Coutinho and Sakho revived hopes of a comeback. Dejan Lovren scored the winner in the 90th minute as Anfield erupted.
Here’s how the players, pundits, and managers reacted to the win.
Jurgen Klopp
Jurgen Klopp was ecstatic when Dejan Lovren scored the last minute winner. This is what he had to say after the game “It is difficult to explain. A wonderful, wonderful night at Anfield and to be honest the game was strange.”
Speaking to BT Sport he said, “When we brought Daniel Sturridge and Joe Allen on we gave them the message, 'we have to show character.' I don't care if we lose, we have to show them and we did even more. This is European football at its best. It's hard to believe. Congratulations to all of the lads.”
"At half-time it's difficult to stay brave but we agreed that the we had to go the hard way. It is a game that all fans - even not of Liverpool or Dortmund - can say, OK, football is a nice game In the end, we did a bit more than that. That is what football can be at its best – a wonderful experience – and it’s hard to believe that it really happened like this”
When asked about the possibility of winning the trophy he replied, “Please don't ask me this s**t (about Champions League qualification).”
Klopp said he tried to channel the inspiration of Istanbul at half time. “You could hear it, you could feel it and you could smell it. I told the lads I was not there, but a few Liverpool players a little bit older, most of them as experts as television pundits now, were 3-0 down at halftime and won a Champions League final – we should try it and they did it”
Thomas Tuchel
Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel was left stunned after the game as he tried to explain why his team lost.
“I can't explain it. If I could explain it then something logical would have happened. You can't explain it. If you can explain then you should be able to make a difference. When it became 3-3, everyone believed here. If you have such a strong belief then things happen.”
“We had a goal and we did not achieve it. At this level of sport, it's about winning and we didn't make it. If things happen then you have to be an honourable loser and congratulations to Liverpool. You take defeat like a champion,”
“It was the best first-half; we could have scored more. It should have been enough. We lost control, I don't know why.”
Dejan Lovren and Divock Origi
The match winner Dejan Lovren will go down in Liverpool history as he talked about his dramatic night.
"It is an amazing feeling," he told BT Sport. "It is one of the best games in the last two or three years. We didn't expect we would start like we did, but we never stopped believing in ourselves.”
"We said at halftime we have nothing to lose, we need to just to believe. It was a great effort from everyone, we deserved to win."
Divock Origi revealed what Klopp had told the players at half-time to inspire their victory. “The coach told us ‘create a moment to tell our grandchildren’, make it a special night for the fans.”
“We believed. When we scored the first goal we all felt it was going to be a special moment. At the end, defenders and strikers were all fighting for the ball and I think we deserved the win”
Pundits and players react
Several Liverpool players and ex-players and pundits all expressed their opinion on social media after the win.
