Liverpool’s long run of penalty shoot-out success came to an end as Manchester City denied Jurgen Klopp’s team in the Capital One Cup final.
The Reds had won their last five finals that went the distance, including their last three trophies against Cardiff City, West Ham United and AC Milan.
But has the curse of Klopp overridden that impressive record?
The German coach has now lost finals in four successive seasons, even if he did do well to bring his team back into the game against City and force penalties.
4 – Jurgen Klopp has now lost a cup final in four successive seasons as a manager. Glum.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 28, 2016
First up was the 2013 Champions League final, of course, when Arjen Robben’s late strike helped Bayern Munich deny his Borussia Dortmund team.
The same opponents denied him domestically the following season, with Robben on the scoresheet again as Bayern wrapped up victory in extra-time.
And last year Dortmund went the distance in the DFB-Pokal once more, only for Wolfsburg to deny him the perfect send-off with three first-half goals.
Still, if you want to look on the bright side, it means Klopp has reached a cup final for four seasons running. And he could even make it five in four years, with Liverpool still very much alive in the Europa League.
