Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has explained how he slept better than ever despite missing “the most incredible moment in the history of the Champions League”.
Klopp led the Reds to their sixth European Cup – and the first trophy of his tenure – with a 2-0 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in the final in Madrid in June.
Liverpool had won through to the showpiece with a remarkable comeback against Barcelona in the semi-final, having overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit to win the return match 4-0 at Anfield.
The crucial fourth goal came through a piece of ingenuity when Trent Alexander-Arnold faked walking away from a corner before catching the visiting defence napping with a swift low delivery converted by Divock Origi.
Barcelona, though, weren't the only ones not paying attention.
“Unfortunately, the most incredible moment in the history of the Champions League... I didn’t actually see it,” said Klopp. “Maybe this is a good metaphor for the life of a football manager, I don’t know.
“But I completely missed Trent Alexander-Arnold’s moment of pure genius.
“I saw the ball go out for a corner. I saw Trent walking over to take it. I saw (Xherdan) Shaqiri following him.
“But then I turned my back because we were preparing to make a substitution. I was talking to my assistant, and... you know, I have goose bumps every time I think about it... I just heard the noise.
“I turned to the pitch and I saw the ball flying into the goal.
“I turned back to our bench and looked at Ben Woodburn and he said 'What just happened?!' And I said 'I have no idea!'.
“Anfield was going – boof – absolutely crazy. I could barely hear my assistant, and he was yelling 'So... do we still make the substitute?'
“Hahahaha! I will never forget him saying that! That will always be with me.”
Klopp, speaking to The Players Tribune, added: “Can you imagine? Eighteen years as a manager, millions of hours watching this game, and I missed the cheekiest thing that has ever happened on a football pitch.
“Since that night, I have probably watched the video of Divock’s goal 500,000 times. But in person, I only saw the ball hit the net.
“When I got to my little boot room after the match, I didn’t even have a sip of beer. I didn’t need it.
“I had the best sleep of my life. The best moment was waking up the next morning and realizing 'It’s still true. It really happened.'”
