MADRID, Spain, May 1 – Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp was furious with the performance of English referee Howard Webb as his side just withheld a late Real Madrid onslaught to qualify for the Champions League final Tuesday.
Goals from Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos gave Madrid hope of an incredible comeback in the final 10 minutes, but Dortmund just held out to win 4-3 on aggregate, despite losing 2-0 on the night — and Klopp said they weren’t helped by the leniency shown by Webb towards Ramos.
“The game was crazy. From the first seconds each player of Real Madrid did things to bring the referee to one side so we had to not react and be cool,” Klopp said.
“I thought Ramos could do to (Robert) Lewandowski what he wanted and so to stay cool in these situations is great.
“I thought if we stayed calm and played our football that it was possible for us to go to the final tonight and I think we are the team that deserved to go to Wembley.”
With Bayern Munich leading Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the other semi-final, the stage seems set for an all-German final in the English capital, but Klopp insists no matter which team they face Dortmund will not just be there to enjoy the occasion.
“It will be one of the greatest moments in our life, but we don’t want to be tourists,” he said.
“It is not important who we play, we will not be the favourite so it is the perfect road for us and we will enjoy it. Our fans will enjoy it.
“Tonight is one of our biggest moments and everyone in Wembley will see we are not satisfied with being a finalist, we want to be a winner of this cup.”
However, there was some bad news for the Germans as playmaker Mario Gotze limped off early on and Klopp confirmed that he had torn a muscle in his thigh.
