In his post-match press conference after Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the Champions League final, Jurgen Klopp claimed "something is going wrong for the other team" when a goalkeeper wins the Man of the Match award.
Los Blancos lifted European football's biggest prize at the Stade de France on Saturday night thanks to a 59th minute winner from Vinicius Jr, but the difference-maker at the showpiece event in Paris was goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian shot-stopper made a record-breaking nine saves to help Los Blancos win the trophy for a 14th time. This compilation proves it was one of the all-time great goalkeeping performances.
From pivotal first-half saves to deny Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, to retaining that narrow 1-0 lead with another wonderful save to stop the Egyptian forward – Courtois almost single-handedly brought the title home to Madrid.
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The 30-year-old said after the win that he wants fans to "put respect" on his name after Saturday's Man of the Match performance.
"I saw a lot of tweets saying I would get humbled," the former Chelsea goalkeeper said. "It was the other way round. "Today I needed to win a final - for my career, for all the hard work, to put respect on my name because I don’t think I have enough respect, especially England. I saw a lot of criticism that I was not good enough or whatever."
Minutes later, in his post-match press conference, Jurgen Klopp said the Champions League final defeat was "harsh" on his side.
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The German also pointed out that when the goalkeeper is the Man of the Match, then "something is going wrong" for the other team – a statement that got plenty of fans talking on social media.
He began: “They scored a goal, we didn’t, that’s the easiest explanation in the world of football and it’s hard, harsh to get anyway, [but we] respect that of course.
"When the goalkeeper is Man of the Match then something is going wrong for the other team, so we had I think three really big chances where Courtois made incredible saves. I would have loved to have had a few more of this calibre.”
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Klopp continued: “I think Madrid had one shot on target, is that right? And that was a goal. But, look, I understand 100 per cent and I respect 100 per cent the reason for playing football and having these kinds of competitions is to win the game, and whatever you do – as long as it’s in the rules – it’s allowed and you can do it. It’s completely fine.
"We had to defend as well in moments, just that we blocked the shots or whatever. We played a good game, but when you lose 1-0 you have to admit it was then not good enough.”
Klopp's comments were criticised by many online, with some pointing out that Reds goalkeeper Alisson picked up a 'Man of the Match' performance in this season's FA Cup clash against Chelsea, although Luis Diaz did officially win the award.
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The Brazilian's impressive outing against Spurs in the 2019 Champions League final was also mentioned by fans.
Thoughts on Klopp's post-match comments?
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Let us know in the comments.
Topics: Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool, Champions League, Real Madrid
Jack Kenmare