Zimpapers Logo

MUNICH. — Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp revelled in his side’s growing maturity on the European football stage after dumping Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on Wednesday night.

A Sadio Mane double and Virgil van Dijk’s towering header secured a 3-1 win on the night in Munich and on aggregate to secure Liverpool’s place in today’s quarter-final draw alongside three other English sides.

“The second half (was) very, very mature. First half we should have played a bit more football,” said Klopp.

“It’s absolutely deserved that’s the main news I would say, because it’s so difficult to play away here at Bayern. They didn’t lose a lot of games (here).

“It’s a really big one, I’m so proud of the boys and how they did it.”

Defeat may signal the end of an era for a Bayern side that has reached the semi-finals in six of the past seven seasons, including when they beat Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund side to win the Champions League in 2012/13.

However, Klopp denied victory in Munich was especially sweet given his past history with German champions Bayern.

“I’m not like this. I did not want to beat Bayern for beating Bayern, I wanted to win for Liverpool,” he added. “We had so many people here tonight, the crowd was brilliant here creating an away atmosphere you need. — AFP.