Jurgen Klopp confident Liverpool will bounce back from defeat to Real Madrid in Champions League final

The Reds won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup with penalty shoot-out victories against Chelsea, then took the Premier League title race to the final day before Manchester City pipped them by a point.

Liverpool had hoped to end the season with the club’s seventh European Cup but Real Madrid were crowned continental champions for a record 14th time in Paris.

Vinicius Junior’s second-half goal secured Carlo Ancelotti’s side a 1-0 victory at the Stade de France, where kick-off was delayed by 36 minutes due to security issues outside the ground.

“These boys played an outstanding season,” said Klopp, whose side went through a parade in Liverpool on Sunday.

"The two competitions we couldn’t win, we didn’t for the smallest possible margin: one point, 1-0.

“City during the season, they were one point better and tonight Madrid was one goal better. That says nothing about us. The difference between 2018 and now is that I see us coming again.

“In 2018, I wished it but I couldn’t know, but these boys are really competitive, they have an incredible attitude. It is a fantastic group. We will go again definitely.

“Tomorrow [Sunday] we will celebrate the season. It is good we don’t have to do that immediately but after a night’s sleep and maybe another speech from me, the boys will realise how special it was what we did.

“Even if nobody on this planet would understand (why) we have a parade tomorrow, we still will do it.

“I really hope everybody has a chance to get to Liverpool tomorrow to celebrate together with us a fantastic season that didn’t end as we wanted. That’s fact but the club is in a good moment, we will go again.”

Klopp congratulated Madrid for their win in the French capital and acknowledged that playing every match this season was not ideal as they pushed for an equaliser.

But Thibaut Courtois put in a man-of-the-match display between the sticks on a night when Ancelotti’s men emerged victorious

“They scored and we didn’t,” he said in the post-match press conference. “That’s now easy to say.

“We could have played better football but Madrid could have played better football but they didn’t and Madrid won anyway.

“I think Madrid played already a lot of games better. We cannot say they played exactly like to. Fine. That’s how we play a final.

“The stats is 50-50 possession so it was not that they never had the ball absolutely but apart from the goal they didn’t have a shot on target.

“That’s a good sign for my team. We had nine shots on target. That’s really a good number but the problem is they scored with one shot and we didn’t score with nine.”

The final was marred by the issues outside the Stade de France, which led Liverpool to officially request a formal investigation “into the causes of these unacceptable issues” midway through the final.

Klopp was aware problems were afoot but was still not completely au fait with the situation when he faced the media in the post-match press conference.

“Not a lot (to say),” he said. “I couldn’t speak to my family yet but I know families had real struggles to get into the stadium with the reasons I don’t know yet.

“What I heard that there will be an investigation to figure out what’s going on there. I heard a few things. They were not good, not nice. Obviously it was pretty tricky out there I don’t know more about it.”

Ancelotti claimed Real Madrid’s long European history makes it easier to win the Champions League after becoming the first coach to win the competition four times.

A year on from leaving Everton and making a shock return to the Bernabeu, the well-travelled Italian added the Champions League trophy to this season’s LaLiga title.

Ancelotti won the European Cup twice as a player with AC Milan, who he then led to the Champions League twice as manager before winning another during his first spell in Madrid.

“This title was the most difficult I’ve ever won,” said Ancelotti. “The side were pushed on to fight by the fact nobody believed we could win it.

“We created a good atmosphere. I think we’ve deserved to win this competition. We’ve suffered, but we have never given up. We got through today’s game well. The key was to not give their front three any space in behind. We won, deservedly, against a great side who haven’t lost many games this season.

“It’s easier to win the Champions League with Madrid than with another side. There’s many reasons for that. The fans are special, this club is special. I’m so happy. I’m happier than ever. I’ve come back to Madrid, we’ve had a spectacular season.”