Jurgen Klopp disagrees with strong Carlo Ancelotti claim after Liverpool’s loss to Real Madrid

Jurgen Klopp conceded it looks almost certain that Liverpool face crashing out of the Champions League to Real Madrid - despite Carlo Ancelotti claiming the tie wasn’t over.

The Reds were condemned to a chastening 5-2 loss against the current holders in the last-16 first leg at Anfield on Tuesday night.

After losing last season’s final to Real, as well as the 2018 showpiece, Klopp’s men couldn’t have asked for a better start in their latest meeting. Goals from Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah put the home side in the driving seat after just 14 minutes.

But Liverpool would capitulate to not only lose the game but virtually confirm their exit from Europe’s elite club competition. Vinicius Jr. and Karim Benzema notched doubles while Eder Militao crashed home a header as Real profited from woeful defending.

The second leg takes place at the Santiago Bernabeu on 15 March. Although Liverpool need to win by four clear goals due to the away-goal rule, Madrid chief Ancelotti insisted there is ‘no way’ the tie is over.

Klopp refuted that claim, however. The Liverpool chief said: “I think Carlo thinks the tie is over - and I think it as well in the moment, but in three weeks... it’s how it is in these moments, the closer you get to the game the bigger our chances become and the less likely it is the tie is over.

“Tonight, with the 5-2 and you see the game, they are pretty good in counter-attacking and we have to score three goals there and take some risk, so that could be a bit tricky. It is really not even in my mind.

“We go there, I can say it now already, and try to win the game. If that is possible or not, I don’t know now but that’s what we will try and from there we will see.”

Despite Liverpool throwing a two-goal lead away and going into half-time level, Klopp was feeling positive. But he felt that Miliatao’s intervention inside two minute of the second period put paid to the Reds’ momentum.

Klopp said: “I really think everything was pretty obvious tonight; I think we gave all five goals away and that means we could have done better there, but they were all obviously different. The start in the game, in our situation where we are, it is really important that we see positive steps - and I think the first half was, besides the two goals we conceded, the best we’ve played for probably the whole season. I liked it a lot.

“OK, the second goal, we cannot defend better because it is a slapstick [moment], but it equalled pretty much our second goal that we scored. The first goal we conceded we have to defend better, there were enough players around, nobody puts a foot in and stuff like this. It’s very tight and it is just a world-class moment from Vinicius then as well, but I think it is obvious we can defend it better.

“Half-time, [it was] rather positive, to be honest. You think: ‘OK, this happened... we have to play in this and that space, if we keep doing that they will have problems’ and then we start with conceding the third goal, which was a horrible goal and today it was pretty much the game-changer.

“We lost the momentum in that moment and never really got it back. In the first half we could have scored a third one, we had our moments, we were a bit unlucky with the scrappy situation in the six-yard box. In the second half, the game was the game Real Madrid wanted to play. Both of the other goals they scored, one is deflected and they are not really well defended, to be honest. We lose the ball in the wrong moment, which is obviously a massive problem against Real Madrid with the counter-attacking threat they have and that’s how it came to the result. That’s it.”