The Portuguese hailed a “historic” 1-0 win over the Reds in the Champions League but says the margin of victory could easily have been greater

Basel coach Paulo Sousa says his side could have beaten Liverpool by more than 1-0 in their “historic” Champions League win on Wednesday.

Captain Marco Streller converted a 53rd-minute corner secure a victory at St Jakob Park and boost Basel’s chances of reaching the next round.

Sousa was delighted with the victory, but was even more impressed by his team’s performance.

“I’m very happy. It’s a great win,” the Portuguese said. “I knew we needed a great performance from each individual player if we wanted to beat a team like Liverpool – and we did that. We defended well, played well and had chances to get more goals.

“We could have won by more … against Liverpool! Look at the players they have playing there.”

Basel, who have also beaten English trio Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham in the past four years, lost their opening game to Real Madrid but are now second in the group, ahead of the Reds.

Sousa said: “We have given ourselves a huge amount of confidence with this success. It gives us a boost. We were proactive in the game and didn’t just wait for them. That was decisive. Our fans gave us tremendous support. It was glorious, historic, for me, the players, the fans and the club.”

Basel, who are level on three points with Liverpool after two games, next play Group B minnows Ludogorets home and away while the Reds have a double header against group-leaders Real Madrid.