Commenting upon the defeat suffered from Napoli in Liverpool CL debut, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp stated: "It was much more of a game than last year, when we played here and lost 1-0. We had a lot of good moments; I think the game was in our hands in a lot of stages. We made a lot of interceptions, we won the ball, and had counter-attacks. Both teams showed a lot of respect for each other, very compact, defended well and that’s how you play a game against a strong side, to be honest. It was really hard work for both teams. The second half was a bit fuller with wild moments - counter-attack, counter-attack, and then lose the ball when you are in the box and then have to run back. Then we started to control the game again, and then we conceded the 1-0, and that was the game-changer tonight.
We have to accept the result and we do that. We are really critical with ourselves but it was not a really, really bad performance; it was a game which you can win at Napoli, but we didn’t because we didn’t score and that doesn’t work then really. You want to then have at least a point and we didn’t get that because of the penalty. I am pretty sure there are different views on that situation, but when the player jumps before there is contact it cannot be a penalty. We cannot change that anymore, so now we carry on. That’s it.
This time, the VAR determined the outcome, and I could say a lot of things about it but I would look like a bad loser and I am not. Maybe I am not the best loser in the world, but I am not bad. It is a decision made by human beings. I think when you see the pictures it is clear. What can I say about it? It was pivotal, for sure, but we cannot change it anymore.
Napoli actually can win the competition, that’s how it is. If you have a good plan, if you have good players, which is what they obviously have, then they can win the competition. We experienced that you don’t have to be the best team in the world to win the Champions League. You have to be in the right moment, you need to be lucky in some situations, and when there’s only two guys in the room that think it’s a penalty, you still have to accept that’s a penalty, but that’s all. They can win the competition, of course.
Tonight answering questions is a real challenge, to be honest. I think the guy from Sky Italia asked me or told me Napoli was much better than us. I didn’t see that game, so I don’t know exactly where he was when the game happened. But now you say we were tired. Who had the cramps? Who was on the ground? Liverpool players or Napoli players? After the 2-0 they looked fresher than us, after the 1-0 they looked fresher than us - that’s normal. You have a boost. But there was no fresher team on the pitch. There was no physical problem apart from the normal physical problems in a game like this, which is very intense [because] both teams fight hard and all that stuff. It’s not a physical problem tonight. We have to finish the situations off. How everybody is in life, you need positive moments and you can run forever. We didn’t have really positive moments tonight. They obviously got the second air, so they could go again. That’s normal, but that was not the reason.
I hope this defeat doesn't striker us off the group. Give us at least a few more games to change the table. Right now it looks like Napoli’s through, but we still will be playing. We will not stop".
Source: transfermarketweb.com