Jurgen Klopp: 'Result not perfect, but good enough to work with'

Jurgen Klopp's side were unable to grab a goal out of their many chances - Jurgen Klopp's side were unable to grab a goal out of their many chances  
Jurgen Klopp's side were unable to grab a goal out of their many chances  Credit: Offside/Getty Images

Jurgen Klopp acknowledged that Liverpool’s result was “not perfect, but good enough to work with” after they failed to take their chances against Bayern Munich.

Sadio Mane missed the clearest of several opportunities as the German champions secured a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 meeting at Anfield.

Klopp indicated that Liverpool’s keeping of a clean sheet with a makeshift defence has at least given them a chance going into the second leg at the Allianz Arena on March 13.

He said: “It will be a tough one to play at Bayern. If we had won 1-0 here, what would have changed really? A 0-0 would have been enough, but that’s pretty much all that changes. If we draw 1-1, that’s now enough as well. So it was not perfect but it good enough to work with.”

Klopp was frustrated by his team’s failure to make their pressure count against a Bayern side who showed little ambition after a promising first half-an-hour.

He said: “In the first half we created, but in the second half nobody created.

“Our problems were the quality of the opponent and the fact that the last pass was not our friend. We had 10 or 12 situations where everything was on a plate and then we played a very average last pass and gave the ball away.

“I am pretty sure Bayern feel a bit better than we do but we have three weeks and day by day the result will feel a bit better for us and a bit worse for Bayern.”

Klopp called last night’s match a Hornberger Schießen, a German idiom used to describe an event heralded in advance with much noise and effort, but that ultimately fails to live up to its hype. Klopp said: “It is not the result or the game we dreamed of. In Germany we say it is like the Hornberger Schießen, which translates as “Hornberger Shooting”: a big ballyhoo before the game and then not much happens.

“But we had chances in the first half with Sadio. A goal would have changed things.” Klopp, meanwhile, declared that he had no problems with the fact that Bayern Munich head coach Niko Kovac delayed their post-match handshake to congratulate his own team.

Sadio Mane and Joshua Kimmich battle for the ball - Sadio Mane's many attempts at creating goal opportunities went unfulfilled
Sadio Mane's many attempts at creating goal opportunities went unfulfilled Credit: Offside/Getty Images

Kovac apologised to Klopp afterwards, explaining that he was following the post-match tradition followed in Germany.

The Liverpool manager said: “I wanted to shake Niko’s hand immediately and then he went in the crowd of his players, and I thought he was going to shake every Bayern hand. Then when he came back, I said I was waiting and he apologised.”

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said that Liverpool can still “hurt” Bayern when they meet in Germany. He said: “It’s not the worst result in the world. The performance level was good but we lacked that bit in the final third.

“It’s still alive. We’ve got games before the second leg. We’ve got to be confident still. It’ll be difficult but we have experience in the Champions League. We can go there and hurt them.”

Kovac, whose team are three points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund in their chase for a seventh successive Bundesliga title, acknowledged that there was still plenty of work for his team to do.

He said: “My glass is half-full and half-empty. I can’t remember that many clubs have avoided defeat and not conceded at Anfield. The way Liverpool played, they are a sensationally good team.

“My team in defence and as a whole kept everything tight at the back and played at a high level, tactically and mentally. We didn’t score but we didn’t let one in.

“We are at home now, we will play in front of 75,000. We know if we concede, we have to win. At this level, very small differences can decide everything so we will wait and see.”

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