Liverpool gave it their all, but they narrowly came up short against Real Madrid in the Champions League final.Loris Karius' 51st minute howler gifted Karim Benzema the opener, but Sadio Mane restored parity minutes later.Gareth Bale scored an extraordinary overhead kick to put Los Blancos back in front, and he then notched again after Karius spilled his long range effort into the net.Liverpool tried their hardest to get back into the game, but they could not find a way back as Real Madrid emerged 3-1 victors.That means Real Madrid have now won three consecutive Champions League titles.Liverpool can still hold their head up high for a tremendous campaign.Virtually no one thought the Reds would go all the way to Kiev at the start of the season.Jurgen Klopp's side defied everyone's expectations with a quite scintillating run to the final.Their showdown against Real Madrid could have even gone the other way had Karius not made two disastrous errors.And what Virgil van Dijk said in the immediate aftermath of the game was brilliant.The Dutchman has made a big impression both on and off the pitch since joining the Merseyside club in January.And he reacted perfectly when asked to sum up Liverpool's loss."We should be proud of getting to a final like this," he said on TalkSPORT."All the other teams say they are happy now because we lost but they should be jealous of us for getting here."

Spot on, Virgil.

Liverpool should be proud - and others should be jealous.

No one expected them to get to the final in the first place. They were even underdogs going into the final in Kiev.

But they've proven everyone wrong.

Klopp's side may not have won their sixth European Cup title, but they have still embarked on a Champions League run that should be admired from all corners of the globe.

KLOPP'S MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FOR KARIUS

It will be a long time before Karius gets over his two individual mistakes that cost Liverpool the game.

And Klopp admitted that he felt for him after the game.

“What can I say? Loris knows it, everyone knows it. That’s it," the German manager said.

“It’s a shame it was in a game like this, after a season like this. I really feel for him, a fantastic boy.

“The second one is because of the first one. It’s really difficult to get rid of bad thoughts you have in your mind.

“It was not the best script for us tonight.”