The Reds boss was happy with his side's domination on Thursday night and felt that despite the narrow victory, their advancement was merited as the club edged through
Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool’s progress to the last 16 of the Europa League at the expense of Augsburg was “well deserved” following their 1-0 win at Anfield.
An early James Milner penalty on Thursday night was enough to decide the tie after the first leg finished goalless.
The Reds dominated the play on their own turf and created a series of openings, but couldn’t add a clinical edge to make the result comfortable.
That led to a tense end at Anfield, and there was relief when the final whistle went and Liverpool advanced to the last 16.
“Over 70 minutes we were that good that we couldn’t see their plan,” Klopp said of how his side controlled the game.
“Then at the end they had the long balls and could change [Raul] Bobadilla and a few other players.
“The free-kicks were the biggest challenge for us. But it was a really good game and it was absolutely deserved; everybody who saw the game would have to say we deserved to win and were the better team and created chances.
“We only had one problem – we didn’t use them and score often enough. That’s how football is sometimes. For us, it’s still a long way and the only problem was we couldn’t control the game in the last 20 minutes.
“But now, after the game, with a 1-0, I am completely fine. As far as I know, there are no injuries. It was hard, that’s how it should be, and now we are in the next round – well deserved.”
He added: “It was a very tough game and they showed their determination to play and also made it difficult for us to play against them. “They took risks and defended very well. If you look at it overall and the work Markus [Weinzierl] has done, he has got a great team and done really well – particularly given the injuries they’ve had.
“But it’s less important what we think about them, I think it’s important for FC Augsburg to feel very proud tonight.”
- Goal