Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said his side would still have to “work like hell” to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, despite securing a commanding 3-0 quarter-final first-leg lead over runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City.
City lead Liverpool by 18 points in the Premier League, but their only league defeat this season came in a 4-3 thriller at Anfield in January, and they suffered an even worse fate on Wednesday to leave their hopes of winning the European Cup for a first time hanging by a thread.
Just as in the January meeting, prolific Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane were on target for the hosts.
Photo: AFP
“We beat the best team in the world, so that’s a really good performance,” Klopp said. “It was good tonight, but I am not interested in being good. In this competition it is about going to the next round, and we are not in the next round. Let’s talk about it after the next game.”
“We will really have to work there again like hell,” he added.
Klopp’s caution is born out of the fact that City thrashed 10-man Liverpool 5-0 in their only previous meeting at the Etihad this season.
“We conceded there already five. How can I say it is not possible?” Klopp said.
City boss Pep Guardiola insisted he still believed, despite his side’s most comprehensive defeat of the campaign.
“I think in this room there is nobody except the guy talking to you who believes we are going to go through,” Guardiola said. “Tomorrow we are going to try to convince ourselves that in six days it is 90 minutes more and we are going to try.”
Liverpool’s night was slightly marred when Salah limped off with an injury early in the second half.
“After the game he said: ‘I will be good, I will be fine,’ but now we have to wait for the real diagnosis,” Klopp said of his Egyptian star’s fitness.
City could already be crowned English champions by the time the sides meet again for the second leg next week, should they beat local rivals Manchester United tomorrow.
Guardiola’s side have been in stunning form for the large majority of the season, but he lamented a poor 20-minute period in the first half that has likely cost them a shot at European glory.
“The result is tough, but I don’t have feeling we played to concede that result,” Guardiola said. “But in this competition [what happens] in the boxes makes all the difference and they were so good in those situations.”
City were well aware of the cauldron they were facing from the start, as their team bus was battered by bottles and cans on their arrival at Anfield.
Klopp was quick to apologize in a strongly worded statement condemning the actions of Liverpool’s supporters.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and