Jurgen Klopp has revealed the intensity of Coronavirus news in Spain led to his side Champions League round of 16 knockout as the situation made them snubbed proper preparation for the clash
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Less than three weeks ago, Atletico arrived on Merseyside for the Champions League round of 16 second-leg, holding a slender one-goal advantage over the Premier League leaders.
The game went to extra time level at 1-1 on aggregate, but three goals for the visitors in the additional 30 minutes cancelled out Roberto Firmino’s 94th minute goal.
Before the European night, there were doubts as to whether the match at Anfield would go ahead, with other games in Europe being cancelled and taking place behind closed doors.
On the day Atletico landed in England, all education facilities in Madrid were forced closed as Spain rapidly tried to get to grips with the pandemic.
Although, thousands of fans were able to travel to Merseyside with a crowd of over 50,000 people watching on.
Klopp said it was strange for his team to prepare for the game amid the uncertainty and events unfolding in their opponents country.
"It is two weeks ago, but it feels like it is ages ago that we played Atletico and Thursday was a day off,' he told Liverpool's official website.
"I remember, we all knew about the situation with coronavirus around the world but we were still 'in our tunnel', if you want, and until then it didn’t really arrive into our mind in England.
"We played the Bournemouth game on Saturday, we won it, and Sunday [Man] City lost, so the information for us was ‘two wins to go’.
"But then on Monday morning, I woke up and heard about the situation in Madrid, that they would close the schools and universities from Wednesday, so it was really strange to prepare for that game, to be honest.
"I usually don’t struggle with things around me. I can build barriers right and left when I prepare for a game, but in that moment it was really difficult."
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