Jurgen Klopp Says Liverpool 'Won a Lot of Respect' During 3-0 Loss vs. Barcelona

Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool players earned respect, despite losing 3-0 to Barcelona in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final tie at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night: 

The Liverpool manager even thinks the Reds didn't play as well when reaching last season's final, per David Lynch of the London Evening Standard: "I am completely happy and proud of the boys, I think it was the best Champions League game we played not only this year but last year as well. Against a side like this, playing this kind of football I was completely happy."

It's high praise considering Klopp saw his team brushed aside thanks to goals from former Reds striker Luis Suarez and a historic brace from Lionel Messi. The latter curled a free-kick into the top corner of the net in the 82nd minute for his 600th goal for Barcelona.

Liverpool aren't the first side to be overwhelmed by a Messi masterclass. Former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, now of AS Monaco, offered some sympathy:

Sympathy may be a little much since the scoreline indicates the Reds were well beaten. Yet it's not as if Liverpool didn't have chances to make things different.

Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was needed to make key saves to deny Mohamed Salah and James Milner. There was even a chance for the visitors to salvage a vital away goal after Messi's moment of brilliance.

Sadly for Klopp, the moment came and went when substitute Roberto Firmino saw his effort cleared off the line by Gerard Pique. How Salah didn't find the net from the rebound remains a mystery:

Salah's inexplicable miss would have been compounded had Ousmane Dembele scored late on. Messi rued the Frenchman's miss from close range during an interview with Movistar (h/t Sport's German Bona): "It was a clear chance, it would have been better to finish with four than with three."

Messi doesn't believe the tie is already over ahead of the second leg at Anfield on Tuesday, May 7. Klopp doesn't sound as convinced, though, per Lynch: "Because it is football, we should still try but it didn't make our life easier."

While Klopp may be right not to get his hopes up, the 51-year-old needs to be wary of how he spins a high-profile defeat. Being knocked out by Barcelona limits Klopp's chances of finally winning a first trophy since taking over in 2015.

Liverpool are still in the title race in the Premier League, but Klopp's men trail Manchester City by a point with two matches remaining. Missing out on a first domestic championship since 1990 may raise questions about Klopp's tenure.

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While he's encouraged a high-intensity, entertaining brand of football, taking the final step to winning silverware has proved elusive. Liverpool lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in last season's Champions League final and were beaten by Manchester City in the 2016 Capital One Cup final and by Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League final the same year.

Considering the heavy levels of investment in players such as Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Naby Keita, it not unreasonable for fans to expect Klopp to end a trophy drought stretching back to 2012 sooner rather than later.