Jose Mourinho has had his say on Liverpool's 3-0 defeat at Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final first leg.
The Portuguese boss backed the Reds to be right in contention and cause Barcelona problems before the game - but he was proved wrong as they were shut-out in a comprehensive loss.
The former Manchester United and Chelsea manager nonetheless had some kind words for Jurgen Klopp's "brave" side.
And he felt they deserved a far kinder outcome than the 3-0 defeat which leaves them staring at elimination unless they can pull off an unlikely comeback at Anfield next Tuesday.
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"Liverpool was brave in the approach," Mourinho told RT.
"I don’t think in the past 20 years many teams in the Champions League they beat Barcelona in all possession in the Camp Nou.
“Of course they [Barcelona] have a good team, they have phenomenal players, but that player [Messi] is absolutely incredible.
"Liverpool deserves much more than the 3-0 defeat, much more, but in the last two corners of the game, it could be 4-0 or 5-0, because the game was broken and then they couldn’t cope."
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Mourinho had previously hailed Liverpool's side and referred to how rare it would be for their front three to fail to score.
Klopp's side had Roberto Firmino kept on the bench after a recent injury concern and Mohamed Salah missed a golden chance for an away goal late on.
Speaking before the game, Mourinho said: “ Liverpool ’s strength, [Virgil] van Dijk is phenomenal, and then every game, OK, not every game, but here, here, here, not here, here, here, here, Firmino, Salah, Mane, they score and they score and they score.
“Tell me a game where Salah, Firmino, Mane all three together they didn’t score. It’s very rare."
