Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk acknowledged his team have a near impossible task to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League after their 5-2 defeat at home to Real Madrid.
Speaking after the game, he said: “Very disappointing.
“The way we lost today – to almost not giving ourselves a chance in Madrid, is tough.
“We have almost an impossible job.”
The Dutchman also accepted his side were guilty of errors while recognising Madrid’s quality.
“They can punish you and punish mistakes that you make.
“We started fantastic, 2-0 up and we gave it away. Because of mistakes that we made.
“We know the quality they have and I think we were rushed at times.”
Manager Jurgen Klopp was also critical of his side’s defending at times.
He said: “We gave all five goals away.”
On the first goal, he added: “There are enough players around. Nobody puts a foot in.”
Klopp admitted the third goal straight after half-time was a big momentum shift.
“A horrible goal. Pretty much the game-changer.
“We lost the momentum and never really got it back.”
Despite the heavy defeat, Klopp managed to take positives from the first-half performance.
He said: “It was difficult for Madrid to defend.
“Much more than they wished for. The first-half was the best we’ve played all season.”
Carlo Ancelotti enjoyed his return to Merseyside.
When asked about the team’s strategy, the Italian revealed his team set up differently to last year’s final against the same opposition.
Ancelotti said: “We planned to play a different game from the final.
“The final was a low block to reduce the counter-attack. Tonight was a little bit different.”
Straight after the game, one Liverpool fan gave their reaction and hopes the defeat doesn’t have a knock-on effect.
Speaking to MerseySportLive, he said: “We were humiliated by them after such a good start. Just hope this doesn’t knock the confidence now.”
(Featured pic by Alamy Images, under agreed licence)
