Jurgen
Klopp praised both Liverpool and Chelsea for being "mentality monsters"
after an epic FA Cup final penalty shoot-out whilst Thomas Tuchel was "sad
but proud".
Liverpool completed a clean sweep of the domestic cups with another dramatic
win over Chelsea on penalties at Wembley, as Kostas Tsimikas struck the
decisive spot-kick after Mason Mount's effort was saved by Alisson.
Liverpool's success was tempered by injuries to Mohamed Salah and Virgil van
Dijk, which could potentially damage their hopes of an unprecedented
quadruple, with their Premier League pursuit set to continue on Tuesday at
Southampton on Sky Sports and their Champions League final with Real Madrid
on May 28.
Klopp told BBC Sport: "Outstanding, it was an incredible, intense game
against Chelsea - they would have deserved it exactly the same way, like in
the Carabao Cup. That's how small the margins are.
"I couldn't be more proud of my boys, the shift they put in, how hard they
fought, the early changes. I think Virgil is fine, but his muscle was hurt.
"All of these things, missing good chances, overcoming good moments from
Chelsea, then having really good moments ourselves.
"Then in the penalty shootout, it was nerve-racking, my nails are gone but I
really feel for Chelsea. For the second time, 120 minutes and you get
nothing, that's too hard. But for us I'm pretty happy.
"We are mentality monsters but there were mentality monsters in blue as well
- it was one penalty. Chelsea played outstanding but in the end there must
be one winner and that was us today."
Tuchel: Sad but proud of Chelsea
The defeat for Chelsea meant a third straight FA Cup final defeat for the
club and a second cup final loss this season after Liverpool's Carabao Cup
victory in similar fashion.
You could see what it meant to Tuchel during the penalty shoot-out where his
emotions from despair to joy back to despair again were clear to see.
Despite the defeat, the German could not fault his players for their effort
and ability to take Liverpool all the way.
He said: "Like in the last final, in the Carabao Cup, it's no regrets. I
told the team I'm proud.
"We were sure that we would be competitive and make life very difficult for
Liverpool. We did it again. We struggled in the first 15 minutes but then we
were excellent for the whole match.
"We got to zero-zero against maybe the best attacking team in the world and
we also created a lot of chances. We deserved it, as they deserved it as
well, but again we lose on penalties.
"We are very disappointed of course. We are sad but at the same time proud.
"I was sure we would win today. I was sure before and I was sure during the
match that momentum was on our side. I was sure until the very last minute
but unfortunately I was not right.
"I have to digest it and keep on going. That's life in sports.
"We have everything it takes to win trophies, we proved it. We have a Club
World Cup and a European Super Cup and I don't feel sorry this was at the
beginning of the season and in winter.
"We were good in Champions League, strong in both domestic cups, we can
produce peak performances and we have the mentality in the club to shape the
mentality of the players, but Man City and Liverpool have shown you need
this on a consistency."
Liverpool's remaining fixtures
May 17 - Southampton (a) Premier League, live on Sky Sports
May 22 - Wolves (h) Premier League
May 28 - Real Madrid (n) Champions League final
Chelsea's remaining fixtures
May 19 - Leicester (h) Premier League
May 22 - Watford (h) Premier League
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