Jurgen Klopp took a last, long look at the Bernabeu stadium, and insisted: “It’s imperative we’re back here next season”.
The Liverpool boss made no excuses as his side crashed out of the Champions League with their worst ever aggregate defeat in Europe, after a 1-0 defeat in the home of Real Madrid confirmed their dominance.
But Klopp believes that his club belongs in the top tier of European competition, and he challenged his players to respond with the fight to get back into the Premier League top four, and give themselves the chance of appearing on the biggest stage once more.
“Absolutely it’s the message to get in the top four,” he said. “With the history we have in this competition we usually start with the idea of winning it, and we have reached the final three times in the last few years.
“I really believe if you want to win the competition you have to be outstanding, and we weren’t outstanding so it’s right that we went out.
“But it’s THE competition, and of course we want to be part of, and be part of it every year – so that is the massive task for us now. And we all know that, so our job is to squeeze everything out of the rest of the season as possible.”
HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Liverpool qualify for next season's Champions League? Comment below.
Liverpool did create some chances in an exciting first half, but were denied once more by the hero of last season’s Champions League final, Thibaut Courtois.
In truth though, Madrid were the better side and created the better chances, forcing Klopp to admit: “They were always in control, and we didn’t show the special performance we needed.”
But the manager still believes it’s possible to come back to the European high table next season, and he explained that Liverpool’s next three games could define their chances.
He said: “When we come back from the international break we have a proper football week, with Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, and will then define what we get out of it (the season).
“People may say we lost (the chance of the top four) at Bournemouth, but this week will be a decisive one. It is clear we want to be in the top four, but it is on the pitch we have to show it now.”
Virgil van Dijk was downbeat after the defeat. He said: “I think if I'm honest the first half was quite even. It's always going to be a very difficult task to come here and turn it all around. But you try not to look ahead, you try to win obviously.
“In my time at Liverpool with the games we've played against Real Madrid, I've never won against them, so it's always something that we wanted to do – we wanted to win.
He added: “It was tough but I think the damage was done in Liverpool and that's the most disappointing thing.”
