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'Stunned' Klopp vows to stage strong comeback post Europa League heartache

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ANI London

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has vowed that his side will learn a lesson from their shocking Europa League final defeat to Sevilla and will come back even stronger in the future.

Defending champions Sevilla destroyed Liverpool's long lasting hope of ending their 11-year European drought by defeating them 3-1 in the Europa Cup final at the St. Jakob-Park in Basel.

Liverpool dominated the early stages of the game and went ahead through an excellent goal by England striker Daniel Sturridge in the 35th minute but Jurgen Klopp's side failed to capitalise and went to pieces in the second half.

Sevilla's Kevin Gameiro scored the equalizer in less than a minute after the start of the second half before captain Coke scored a brace in a gap of six minutes to hand Unai Emery's men with title for third consecutive time.

 

Pointing out the reason behind the defeat, Klopp said his side failed to defend well and lost number of chances to score in the second-half.

"What happened then was probably we lost faith in our style of play. We were not compact for a second, didn't defend well, we were nervous. That shows that we are not well enough. This information from tonight we have to carry. We have to use this experience to be stronger, I'm sure we will be stronger if we use it well," the German, who was shocked by the defeat, was quoted as saying by goal.com.

Klopp, however, took blame on himself for the defeat, saying he had failed to take some appropriate decisions during the match.

"I think in this moment, I am responsible for this performance so there's no criticism from my side. I spoke to my players already and tomorrow they go all over the world so that's how it is. Nobody in the stadium believed. I had a few moments when I thought we could change but it's not enough," he added.

With the defeat, Liverpool have also lost the chance to compete in any European football next season.

"To be honest, I think about it, it is OK," he added. "We are responsible for not being in national (European) competition next year. We have to use the time. It's not about the size of squad, the players we have - it's about using the time for training, to get better," insisted Klopp.

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First Published: May 19 2016 | 12:12 PM IST

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