Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was “over the moon” with his side’s 3-2 victory over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the match, the 54-year-old German said, “I think the first half was one of best we ever played, we did all the right stuff, scored in all the right moments, a really incredible game in the first half. I loved each second of it.”

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Indeed, Liverpool were rampant in the first half and raced into a 2-0 lead within 18 minutes, courtesy of a headed goal by Ibrahima Konate and a Sadio Mane slide tackle on City goalkeeper Zack Steffen that put the ball into the back of the net. The half, which was marked by Liverpool dominance, ended 3-0 in favour of the Reds after Mane slotted the ball home through a magnificent volley on the stroke of half-time.

“The second half started with a goal for Man City and then it opened up – the quality of City is insane and you could see it was a much more open game,” Klopp said, referring to Jack Grealish’s early goal in the second half, which came in the 47th minute.

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“We had our situations, we had our counter-attacks which we didn’t use and we can close the game there. We respect the quality of City so much. It’s so difficult to win against them but because it’s these boys in the dressing room we have a chance – and that’s enough for me to give it a try,” he said about the match as a whole.

Commenting on Liverpool’s quadruple hopes, the German said, “The quadruple talks, I can’t believe it. With this game now we have another game which means we get [Manchester United] in the mid-week.”

“So I’m not sure we have a full week before the last matchday, it’s all difficult but who cares? We wanted to go to the final, we knew about the problems but qualifying for the finals makes [the quadruple] more difficult, but it’s the only way to do it. A strange situation!,” the German said about Liverpool’s cramped schedule.

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“All good, we are over the moon. Maybe we beat the strongest and best football team in the world and that’s a pretty special moment,” a beaming Klopp concluded, wrapping up a momentous evening for Liverpool.

Liverpool will now face either of Chelsea or Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final, but prior to that, have to host Manchester United in the Premier League mid-week and come out victorious if they are to keep their title hopes alive.