Barcelona vs Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp admits reaching Champions League final will be difficult

Jurgen Klopp has admitted that reaching the Champions League final will be difficult for his Liverpool side after their 3-0 defeat in Barcelona.

Two second-half goals from Lionel Messi – the second a spectacular free-kick – added to Luis Suarez’s opener to give the Catalans a healthy first-leg advantage.

Liverpool had chances of their own at the Camp Nou, coming closest to a vital away goal late on when Mohamed Salah struck the post.

When asked whether he believed Liverpool still had a hope of reaching the final in Madrid, Klopp said: “Because it’s football, yes, but before this game we had a bigger chance.

“Put it that way. What can I say? It’s Barcelona. If they can play for counter-attacks, that doesn’t help us a lot. That’s difficult to avoid.

“Because it’s football we should still try but this didn’t make our lives easier,” Klopp added.

“It’s not a night for being mealy-mouthy and saying that was exactly what we wanted. ‘It’s half-time.’ ‘Score an early goal’ and all that shit. It will be another really difficult game.”

Klopp marvelled at the performance of Messi in particular, but was in the main left cursing his side’s luck and especially the late Salah chance.

The opportunity only came once Barcelona were already 3-0 up, but the goal would have provided at least a sliver of hope that progression was possible.

"Obviously our season is for close type decisions. Ball’s in, not in. Post, not post,” Klopp said. “3-1 would be a better result, I’d feel slightly different in this moment.

“These boys never give up. I love them, but there’s no party in the dressing room at the moment. Nobody thinks we’re halfway through.

“We have to use that game for a lot of things but in the moment we just feel disappointed, frustrated, whatever you want to say.

“There will be a moment where I convince the boys again how important this was for their development. For us, it’s a very important lesson.”