Jurgen Klopp reveals what he told Liverpool players at half-time during Champions League semifinal second leg

Jurgen Klopp reveals what he told Liverpool players at half-time during Champions League semifinal second leg

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed what he told his squad during the hour break that motivated his side in the second half of their UEFA Champions League second-leg clash with Villarreal on Tuesday.

The Reds made a come back from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 and finished 5-2 on aggregate to secure their third final in five years.

Liverpool FC (photo by Getty images)

They held a 2-0 first-leg advantage coming into El Madrigal, but first-half goals from Boulaye Dia and Francis Coquelin swiftly wiped that out as Liverpool were on the ropes.

Jurgen Klopp later said that he told his team that all was not lost yet, urging them to ‘force’ themselves on Villarreal.After the game, he told BT Sport:

“We didn’t play football at all. I told the boys: ‘Yes they have momentum, but they don’t own it. With one situation we can get it back.'”

He continued:

“We have to force ourselves on them. All of a sudden we were in the game, scored goals and made it happen.

“The problem at half-time is we knew what was wrong because it was obvious, but we didn’t have a situation to show where we did it right.”

“It was a big half-time, but it was more important how the boys reacted. It was clear we had to play football.

“It was clear because I accepted if we played the second half like we did the first then I said they will be in the final.”

Klopp continued:

“The perception was if they scored it’s 3-0, if we score it’s 2-1. But we are still here and could give it a try.”

Liverpool will play either Manchester City or Real Madrid in the final on May 28.

In other news, 5 talking points from jurgen Klopp’s pre-Villarreal press conference