England's Liverpool Football Club team manager Jurgen Klopp said that the Champions League is really important for The Reds and the team needs to make it into the tournament next season after losing to the Spanish club, Agency France Presse reported on Wednesday.
"We have to (bounce back). We love this competition and for different reasons it is very important for the club," Klopp said after the game. "It doesn't make it now easier, these two or three games would've fitted easily in our schedule, but now we can concentrate on the Premier League. Monday night, Leeds, is the next challenge. We have to run and work our socks off. That is what we try to prepare now."
According to the report, failure to qualify for the Champions League would not only be a blow to Liverpool's reputation, but it would also have financial implications for Klopp's ability to bolster his team in the summer transfer market.
With just seven games remaining in the Premier League, the English champions are in sixth position, three points behind the top four, which ensures a place in Europe's premier club competition.
Liverpool has won only one of their last eight games at Anfield, eroding a previously outstanding home record in a season that has been played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions. They have, however, won three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since the season's first three games.
Despite failing to capitalize on their superiority in the second leg against Madrid, Liverpool's midfielder James Milner is optimistic that his team was setting the tempo of the game.
"We played well but when you don't put your chances away, you get punished. The intensity and drive was there but it wasn't enough in the end. They're obviously an experienced side, a top side, but the tempo was there from us today. We just couldn't put away our opportunities," the player is quoted in UEFA's higlights on the game.
Real in the semifinals will meet with Chelsea FC. The matches of this stage of the tournament are scheduled for April 27 and May 4.