Jurgen Klopp admitted he broke his promise during Liverpool’s win over Luton Town on Wednesday night.
Ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley, Liverpool had the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League when they welcomed Luton to Anfield on Wednesday night.
In the first half, the Reds were stunned by a goal scored in the 12th minute by Luton man Chiedozie Ogbene.
However, Liverpool were rampant in the second half as goals from Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott sealed a 4-1 comeback victory.
Speaking after the match, Klopp revealed he broke a promise during his half-time team talk.
He said: “Tonight is one of those nights where it is difficult to stop talking. I am so happy. Before the game nobody knew how the boys would take on the challenge.
“I will mention this game from now a few times. I promised my team I would never mention the Barcelona game as an example and I used it today so I broke my promise – with so many players missing, it’s quite similar.”
Klopp added: “That time, the team ignored the fact who is missing and I want us to ignore who is missing. That is difficult. I needed a few minutes to process it when I got all the injury news but when I know how you can deal with it, it feels really good.
“This is now there. Barcelona. And now against Luton. There’s plenty of reasons to give up but I saw only a super group fighting. If you don’t limit yourself to bad thoughts, I felt fine. The second half was a thunderstorm, wow.
“I know you tend to make headlines (with the first-half reaction). We all had to get used to the crowd as well. We knew the last pass was not great and second half – not that I needed proof – was what this place together with a bunch of fantastic footballers is able to create. It’s so special. Oh my god.”