Buzzer beaters and clutch shots are just part of another day’s work in the world of basketball, and yet are quite a rare commodity in the world of soccer, which makes them extra special when they happen.
And nobody has provided the world with that kind of special more times than Jurgen Klopp in the last few years. So here are the top three nail-biters Klopp and his squads have gifted the world in recent history.
3. Norwich City 4 – 5 Liverpool
A team that was fiercely fighting to stay clear of the relegation zone and a giant trying to make its way back to the Continental Competition qualification zone, those were the taglines for each team as Norwich and Liverpool took the field in that Saturday afternoon back in January.
The Canaries were on the heels of two heavy losses against Stoke City and Bournemouth and trying to avoid the third straight defeat. Klopp’s squad was also looking to break a slump as they entered Carrow Road after losses to West Ham and Manchester United, as well as a draw with Arsenal.
Nevertheless, none of that mattered for the lucky 27,108 people who managed to get in the stadium for that match, because they were rewarded with what was, arguably, the most exciting game of the Premier League this season.
Roberto Firmino opened up the scoreboard for the visitors 18 minutes into the match, but the Reds’ joy didn’t last for long as Dieumerci Mbokani and Steven Naismith put the Canaries in front 2-1 before the end of the first half.
The curtain seemed to be closing for Liverpool in this one as Wesley Hoolahan added another one for Norwich at the beginning of the second half. But instead of shutting the light for the Reds, Hoolahan’s goal fired up a spark that many who face Klopp-led teams hope never to see.
Not a minute after Norwich’s third score, Jordan Henderson put the visitors back on the board. And not long after that, the substitution that would seal Norwich’s fate happened. Klopp took out Jordon Ibe and replaced him with Adam Lallana.
Lallana began to terrorize the Canaries and soon assisted on Firmino’s game-tying strike. Then with 15 minutes left in regulation, James Milner capitalized on a one-on-one after a turnover from the Canaries’ defense.
With the tables finally turned, the Reds managed to relax a little. Well, they would’ve if it wasn’t Sebastien Bassong, the defender tied the game once again with a low strike from outside of the box a minute into extra time.
All over, right?
If you think that might be true, you sure haven’t been acquainted with the figure that is Jurgen Klopp. The draw just would feel right after all of their fight, so what did Klopp do? He sent everybody forward. And this happened:
2. Liverpool 4 – 3 Borussia Dortmund
Facing an old club is never easy. Some players don’t even celebrate their goals if they score. Well, when Klopp hosted his former club for the first time in Anfield he sure gave them a good deal to think about on the flight home.
The Reds only needed a 0-0 draw to go through to the next round of the Europa League. Still, in a very Klopp-like fashion, the German manager decided to have a firefight at home and beat his former protégées on offense. Mind I say that Borussia Dortmund has the fifth highest scoring attack in all of Europe.
The immediate result was Klopp found himself in a 1-3 hole at home and needing another come from behind victory to see his team survive. And somehow, like his teams always seem to do, the Reds managed to do just that.
Led by Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool mercilessly pounded Roman Weidenfeller, until the experienced goalkeeper just couldn’t save his squad anymore.
Coutinho scored Liverpool’s second and then assisted Mamadou Sakho in the game-tying goal with just twelve minutes left in regulation.
Dortmund held on as they could. But when injury time comes, you don’t deny Jurgen Klopp his buzzer beater. And as a high cross from Milner found Dejan Lovren, the Croatian defender found the back of the net and sent Liverpool through to semifinals.
1. Borussia Dortmund 3 – 2 Malaga
The 2013 Champions League was the stage where the Klopp-led Dortmund made its pitch to the world that it was ready to be called one of the greats.
And yet the most memorable moment of that campaign wasn’t getting by undefeated through a group with Real Madrid and Manchester City, or even knocking out Los Merengues in the semifinals. The most amazing stroke of the painting that was Dortmund’s Champion’s League campaign was their victory over Malaga in the quarterfinals.
In front of a sold-out crowd of over 65,000 people in the Signal Iduna Park, that young Dortmund squad led by a young manager put together what was arguably one of the greatest comebacks in Champion’s League history.
They needed a win to get past Malaga, and Joaquin made their road that much harder by scoring the first for the Spanish squad.
It took a touch of genius from Marco Reus and a clinical strike from Robert Lewandowski for the Germans to tie the score. After that, they kept trying, but failing time and time again, until Eliseu delivered what seemed to be a fatal blow, scoring Malaga’s second in the 82nd minute.
Time ticked on, until all that was left were the four minutes of injury time given by the referee and Dortmund still needed two goals.
They only needed two minutes, and the rest, is history:
