Liverpool lacked the chops as Klopp laments finals flop

A tale of two halves favoured Sevilla in the Europa League final Wednesday at St. Jakob Park in Basel, Switzerland, as Unai Emery and Los Rojiblancos stormed back in the second half to capture its third-consecutive title and record fifth with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool.

Liverpool was simply put, not good enough in the second half.

The battle of coastal clubs between the Andalusians and the Merseysiders appeared an even clash until Kevin Gameiro scored 17 seconds after the whistle paired with a Coke brace to batter Liverpool in a dominant second stanza.

Liverpool gaffer Jurgen Klopp, uncharacteristically terse, spoke to the media following the match, lamenting a result that initially favoured his side.

"We Iost faith ... I'm responsible, too ... I have no criticism of my players ...

"We have to use this experience."

Continental bridesmaid once while at Borussia Dortmund, Klopp will have to wait another two years to experience European glory. Wednesday marked the fifth time Klopp has lost in a cup final, with a Champions League defeat to rival Bayern Munich coupled with three DFB-Pokal losses and a League Cup penalties result against Manchester City.

Hard not to feel bad for the typically-ebullient German who simply did not have a good enough squad to top Emery's Europa League experts.

Klopp went on, bemoaning Liverpool's inexperience in losing its second cup final of the year.

"Experience was key after conceding. Where was the central defender or captain saying 'circle the wagons for 20 minutes - we do not concede and we get ourselves back into game'. That is something Liverpool just didn't do.

"We saw it in the game after they scored the first goal. It changed. A lot of people may have thought we could change it again. The goals were too easy."

Noticeably crestfallen, Klopp finished the presser by taking responsibility for the defeat, offering, "In this moment, I am responsible for this performance. There is no criticism and I have spoken to my players. Nobody in the stadium believed, I thought we could change it but it was not enough."