As Liverpool prepare for their third Champions League final in five years, manager Jurgen Klop reflected on the 2018 edition that saw his team beaten by Saturday’s opponents, Real Madrid.
Held in Kyiv, the game, a 3-1 win for Madrid, was one of the most memorable European Cup finals in recent history.
Gareth Bale’s superb bicycle kick and Mohamed Salah’s injury were just two of the subplots on a night defined by Loris Karius.
The goalkeeper, who remains on the club’s books, rolled the ball straight to Karim Benzema to score the opener after colliding with the posts, suffering a concussion.
Karius would then allow Bale’s 40-yard strike to pass through his hands and has not played for the club in a competitive sense since.
Klopp, however, stressed that the fact his ‘keeper was concussed should be taken into account when discussing what happened inside the Olympic Stadium.
“We delivered that night and circumstances hit us,” he said at a press conference on Friday.
“We couldn’t react and arrived on three wheels. Key players came back from injured. Mo got injured.
“Karius had a concussion. It was proven afterwards. Nobody talks about that.
“Things happened. You have to learn to win.”
