'I broke my promise' - Jurgen Klopp compares Luton win to famous Barcelona comeback
- Liverpool came from behind to beat Luton 4-1 on Wednesday
- Jurgen Klopp admitted comeback reminded him of Barcelona triumph of 2019
- German coach said he broke a promise to his players with the comparison
By Sean Walsh
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revealed he broke a promise to his players by comparing Wednesday's 4-1 win at home to Luton Town to their memorable comeback against Barcelona in 2019.
The Reds had to come from a goal down to beat a resilient Hatters side, with Chiedozie Ogbene giving the visitors a surprise first-half lead.
Anxiety and tension increased around Anfield until Virgil van Dijk equalised on 56 minutes. Less than 120 seconds later, Cody Gakpo put Liverpool ahead for the first time on the night.
Luis Diaz then added a third for the hosts before Harvey Elliott rounded off the scoring in stoppage time as Liverpool moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Speaking post-match, Klopp admitted this victory was reminiscent of his side's 4-0 win against Barcelona in the semi-finals of the 2018/19 Champions League, overturning a 3-0 deficit from the first leg.
"Tonight is one of those nights where it is difficult to stop talking. I am so happy," Klopp said.
"We had to ignore the fact we were 1-0 down and use the things that are good and improve the counter-press. The second half was a thunderstorm. Wow.
"I will mention this game from now quite a few times. I promised my team a few months ago that I would never mention or use the Barcelona game as an example and I used it again today so I broke my promise.
"Just because before the game, it was kind of similar. Many players missing, stuff like this. The team that time ignored the fact who is missing and I want us to ignore the fact who is missing.
"That is difficult because the public got the whole knowledge of who is missing only tonight. It's like… I needed a few minutes to process it when I got all the news.
"But from that moment on, when you know how you can deal with it and sort it for this game, it feels really good. That is what I wanted the boys to show.
"This is an example tonight. This is their Barcelona, now against Luton. A difficult situation, plenty of reasons to give up in moments: not tonight and I saw only a super group fighting.
"If you don't limit yourself with bad thoughts, you can fly. And that's what the boys did."
Liverpool return to action on Sunday when they take on Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
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