Jurgen Klopp Admits He Thought Stunning News of AS Roma's Comeback Win Was a 'Joke'

Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he thought Roma's stunning comeback victory over Barcelona 'was a joke' when he was told about the result.

I Giallorossi were trailing the Catalan giants after a 4-1 defeat at Camp Nou in their Champions League quarter final first leg, but won the return fixture 3-0 at Stadio Olimpico to potentially set up a semi final meeting with Reds star and former player Mohamed Salah.

Speaking via the Sun after the contest, Klopp revealed that he thought he was having his leg pulled when he was informed that Roma's remarkable come from behind win was secured in sensational style on home soil.

He quipped: "I walked up the stairs and someone told me. I thought it was a joke. Not that I don't respect Roma, they are a fantastic team. I just wasn't expecting it, but knew it was possible.

"They lost Mo Salah and they are in the semis - it's a big thing!"

Edin Dezko, a Daniele de Rossi penalty and Kostas Manolas bagged the goals that stunned Barcelona and ensured that Roma completed a magnificent achievement in beating the expected La Liga title winners to book their place in the last four.

That means that Salah may face his old club in the semi finals of UEFA's flagship club tournament, after Liverpool earned a 5-1 aggregate win over Manchester City to join them in the hat for Friday's draw.

And Klopp, who now has eight wins in 13 meetings with Pep Guardiola, admitted it wasn't a vintage display from his team despite deserving to go through.

The German added: “The Champions League is not about perfection — it’s about the result, character, mentality and attitude. We created that and fought for the result. I love that.

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“It was not our best game but deserved at the end. There were plenty of things that we could have done better. We needed to start new.

“We used the momentum for us and we knew for City if we scored one goal then the atmosphere is pretty different. Now we are in the semis.”