Jurgen Klopp has picked a surprising favourite final from his time as Liverpool manager – and spoken about the moment when he realised his side were going to win their sixth European title.
Hugely popular Klopp’s reign since October 2015 ended on Sunday with a 2-0 home win over Wolves, bringing to an end a tenure which took in the Premier League title in 2019/20, the Uefa Champions League the previous season and three triumphs in England’s major cup competitions.
European glory might linger longer in fans’ memories than winning a secondary domestic competition, but Klopp says the EFL Cup final in February, when Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal of the game two minutes from the end of extra time, stands out.
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“It’s not my favourite trophy but it’s my favourite final,” Klopp told Liverpool’s YouTube channel of the victory over Chelsea for a heavily depleted Reds squad.
“Everybody understood that was really special. When Virgil scored that goal, the feeling in that moment of all the people. What I really love after a final is watching people celebrating in their living rooms, how they go completely mad and stuff. It’s absolutely outstanding. I enjoyed it like nothing else before in my life.”
Klopp: Origi goal ‘genius’
Divock Origi became something of a cult hero for scoring important goals during his time with Liverpool, and Klopp singled out the forward’s goal to seal his side’s 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Champions League final.
The 56-year-old also recalled Origi’s classic 79th-minute goal against Barcelona in the semi-final, firing in from Trent Alexander Arnold’s quick-thinking delivery to complete a remarkable 4-0 win at Anfield after the Spanish side had won the first leg 3-0.
Klopp admitted it was hard to select a favourite between that goal and goalkeeper Alisson Becker’s last-gasp header to seal a 2-1 win at West Brom in May 2021.
🎙️ “Corner taken quickly… ORIGI!”
📅 On this day, 5 years ago, Liverpool made the impossible possible and beet Barcelona 4-0 after being beaten 3-0 in the first leg.
This corner from Trent Alexander-Arnold surprised everyone. 😍pic.twitter.com/ecscRdTjLl
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) May 7, 2024
“Definitely against Barcelona, when the corner was taken quickly, and Alisson Becker at West Brom,” said Klopp. “If I had to decide, I would say the genius part goes to Trent and Divock, the heart goes to Ali.
“If I had to pick one goal, because I remember now how I felt when he scored it, it’s Divock Origi’s in the Champions League final to make it 2-0. Before that, every time Son [Heung-min] had the ball, I wanted to actually close my eyes.
“When [Origi] scored, I could enjoy it. Performance-wise, there are so many. Our supporters would probably love to hear that [Manchester] United game [7-0 win in March 2023].”
