Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid was 'really hard to take' for former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

In recent seasons, Real Madrid has had the best of Liverpool in the Champions League. The two clubs have met in the finals in 2018 and 2022, with Los Blancos emerging victorious in both – 3-1 and 1-0 respectively.

Jurgen Klopp was Liverpool's manager in both games, and he discussed his struggles with Real Madrid on Toni Kroos' “Einfach mal Lupen” podcast (via MD). First, he spoke about the 2022 game in Paris.

“In that final, no one will be able to explain to me how we could lose. I have never met a team that has not been affected by periods of pressure like Real Madrid. It is as if I had planned it:” first let them break a little and then we fight at the decisive moment”.

“Real Madrid I'm a winning machine, especially in the Champions League – it's crazy. They haven't always played exceptionally well. We deserved to win the Courtois final (in 2022). It was really hard to accept.”

The 2018 final is somewhat known for Sergio Ramos' first clash with Mohamed Salah, which led to the Egyptian striker being substituted. Klopp spoke about that incident, as well as about Ramos.

“(Ramos) is not my favorite player. The action (on Salah) was brutal. Of course, he may not know that he will tear his shoulder, but we all know that he accepted it very happily . I could never understand that mentality. I never had players like that and when I did, I made sure they left.”