Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admitted that his side "made it too easy" for Real Madrid as they were beaten 3-1 in their Champions League quarter-final first leg in Spain.
Vinicius Jr fired Madrid into the lead in the 27th minute at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium after controlling a long diagonal pass from Toni Kroos from his own half which flummoxed the Liverpool defence.
Marco Asensio put the hosts further at ease by scoring in the 35th after a Kroos pass again caused havoc among the visiting backline but Liverpool looked more settled after the interval and a scrappy Mohamed Salah strike pulled them back into contention early in the second half.
But they failed to build on their momentum and Vinicius, who has a reputation for thrilling play but a lack of composure in front of goal, struck again in the 63rd minute, blasting past Liverpool keeper Alisson after clever combination play between Karim Benzema and Luka Modric.
"We didn't deserve a lot more tonight but that one goal, second half, was absolutely OK and it gives us at least kind of a lifeline," Klopp said afterwards.
"If you want to go to the semi-finals you have to earn the right to do so - we didn't do that especially in the first half.
"The only good thing really I can say about the game - apart from we scored a goal - is it is only the first half of the leg. We just didn't play enough good football to cause Real Madrid more problems.
"I really thought that would have been possible. We could not show it tonight, we have to show it in the next game but we made it too easy for them and that is the main thing.
"Especially in the first half we didn't play good enough football. We conceded the first goal, served the second on a plate (after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s mistake), but that was not the real problem of the game.
"Of course, conceding goals is a problem but it is not the problem. The second half we did better, we scored our goal which is the positive of the night and that’s how it is."
Klopp was baffled as to why Sadio Mane did not receive a free-kick and Lucas Vazquez a red card for the challenge late in the first half.
"The situation with Sadio, what the ref (Brych) did tonight I have to say I don’t understand," he added.
"For me that was something personal because he dealt with the situation with Sadio, which was a clear foul, like he was a diver or whatever.
"From that moment on whenever Sadio went down he didn’t get anything. That is not right. That is what I told him after the game, that I thought he was unfair with Sadio.
"That doesn’t change anything at all. He (Brych) didn’t lose the game. We were not good enough to get a better result, but in these moments you need just an 'OK’ ref. That would have been enough."
"It was tactical... I could have done a few more changes in that moment" - Jurgen Klopp on the early substitution of Naby Keita #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/MnkrZp9vrq
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) April 6, 2021
Klopp took a gamble that didn't pay-off in his team selection, dropping midfielder Thiago for Naby Keita in a surprise move.
Keita was replaced after 42 minutes and, while Klopp attempted to play down the early substitution, he admitted it had been for tactical reasons.
He added: "I know it is now a big story and I don't like it anymore to be honest, but it was just Naby was not on the game. He was not the only one but we need Naby in a game that he is really part of and playing football.
"It was tactical, let me say it like this but I could have done a few more changes in that moment. Thank God I didn't, but it was just that."
Vinicius gives Real the lead #RTESoccer #RTESport - Follow live #RMALIV updates here https://t.co/93dLNGwAlu pic.twitter.com/lRr7LqwrfF
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) April 6, 2021
The pace of Vinicius was a problem for Liverpool all night and the Brazilian’s first double in a game was well deserved, according to coach Zinedine Zidane.
"I am happy for him because what he is doing and what all the guys are doing is a great job, especially from a defensive point of view," said the Real boss.
"Maybe he was missing some goalscoring with the work he is contributing to the team so to score two goals is big to provide a lot of confidence and he deserves that.
"I don’t know if that was his best match but two goals in the quarter-finals is important for him and the team.
"I am happy because of the football. At the beginning of the second half we had a bit of difficulty but at the end of the day we are happy with 3-1 as it was a huge effort.
"We have to enjoy what we did today."
The result immediately led to parallels with what Liverpool did to Barcelona in the 2019 semi-final second leg when they won 4-0 to turn around a 3-0 deficit from the Nou Camp.
That paved the way for them to win a sixth European Cup but it was achieved in an electric atmosphere at a packed Anfield, which will go down as one of the greatest nights in the club's history.
Next Wednesday they must do something similar, with the away goal helping slightly, but behind closed doors.
"Of course, it is completely different. Completely different," said Klopp.
"If you want to have some emotional memories, then you watch the Barcelona game back and 80 per cent of this game was the atmosphere in the stadium, so yes, we have to do it without that.
"But it is not that I sit here and think, 'Comebacks are our thing, we do it all the time’. We did from time to time but we always had supporters in the stadium. We don’t have that this time so I don’t know if we can do it, but I can promise you we will give it a proper try.
"It must be a really tricky task for Real Madrid at Anfield with or without supporters. This here (at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium inside Madrid’s club’s training ground) was really strange.
"It was really difficult, a different situation with the stadium, but Anfield is at least a proper stadium and that will be good for us."
In a season of ups and downs, a week ago the most likely route back into the Champions League next season for Liverpool looked like coming from winning the competition itself.
However, a win over Arsenal and other results going their way has put the top four back within reach as they sit just three points adrift of West Ham, who occupy fourth place, with only one of their remaining eight games against a team (Manchester United) higher than ninth.
But Klopp said it was not realistic to just flip-flop between prioritising competitions.
"We cannot be picky with that, we have to go for everything," he added. "It’s not like we can now make the decision after that game there is no chance for us in the Champions League any more.
"In the Premier League, we cannot change it every week – we have to fight until the end and we will.
"This was a really good result for Real Madrid and it’s not that we have any kind of advantage, but with each day and each minute that will go until the next game the 3-1 will not be that good any more for Real Madrid and not that bad any more for us because there is, of course, a chance.
"But we have to play much better football (and) we cannot get it like tonight. For example, when we played against Barcelona and lost (the first leg) 3-0 we played a super game. That’s a massive difference.
"We can play much better (than against Madrid) and we can be much more uncomfortable to play against than we were and that’s what we have to make sure next week.
"Now we have to recover first and then concentrate on Aston Villa, which is for us a very important game, not only because of the results we had recently or in this season against them."
