Jurgen Klopp Discusses Liverpool's Comeback After Win vs. Borussia Dortmund

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was ecstatic after the Reds' come-from-behind win against Borussia Dortmund during Thursday's UEFA Europa League quarter-final action, but he also told reporters his players aren't heroes yet and are not allowed to touch the iconic “This is Anfield” sign until they've earned it.  

He also addressed comparisons to the 2005 UEFA Champions League final, when the Reds completed a remarkable comeback to beat AC Milan on penalties, per Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett:

Liverpool beat BVB 4-3 on Thursday and 5-4 on aggregate thanks to a late goal from Dejan Lovren, capping off a wacky night that started with a quick German double, courtesy of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Dortmund appeared to be on their way to an easy win even after Divock Origi pulled one back for the hosts. Marco Reus brought the lead back up to two goals after 57 minutes before Philippe Coutinho, Mamadou Sakho and Lovren completed a turnaround the fans will never forget.

Down by two goals at half-time, Klopp reminded the squad of the 2005 Champions League final, per Tony Barrett of the Times:

It clearly worked, as Liverpool looked revitalised in the second half, and apart from Reus' goal, the visitors didn't create nearly as much danger as they did before the break.

Per Stephen Creek of Goal.com, Klopp told BT Sport the introduction of Joe Allen and Daniel Sturridge made a big difference:

"

It was a wonderful night at Anfield and to be honest the game was strange.

From the beginning, the whole game showed the quality of Dortmund. They took nearly every chance they had.

We brought Joe [Allen] and Daniel [Sturridge] on as a message - we wanted to show character and we didn’t care if we lost. In the end, we did a bit more than that. That is what football can be at its best – a wonderful experience – and it’s hard to believe that it really happened like this.

"

The second half almost turned into a wacky sequence of unlikely events, with Klopp unable to contain his emotions after every single goal. He and his players celebrated with gusto when the final whistle blew, and via BT Sport (h/t Liverpool's official Twitter account), he injured himself during the celebrations:

Per Oliver Kay of the Times, Klopp said he could feel Anfield changing as the match played out:

The win over Dortmund takes Liverpool one step closer to the final and, perhaps more importantly, to the UEFA Champions League ticket that awaits the winner of this year's Europa League.

A BT Sport reporter asked Klopp about the possibility of qualifying for Europe's top club competition, but, per Rob Harris of the Associated Press, he had no interest in touching on that topic:

He also had some fun at the expense of the reporters, telling them to remember Thursday's remarkable night the next time Liverpool put in a poor performance:

The draw for the semi-finals of the Europa League will take place on Friday, and Liverpool will go up against Shakhtar Donetsk, Villarreal or Sevilla. Shakhtar and Villarreal both cruised to easy wins on Thursday, while Sevilla have won the last two editions of the tournament.

But after beating Dortmund, who many pegged as favourites to win the Europa League, Klopp and his troops will feel confident they can go all the way regardless of their next opponents.

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