Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool only have themselves to blame for defeat
DEJECTED: Liverpool's Darwin Nunez during the Premier League match at the Gtech Community Stadium, London. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire
Jurgen Klopp questioned Brentford’s tactics and questioned the validity of the home side’s third goal but was unable to avoid the conclusion his Liverpool side had only themselves to blame for the shambolic defensive display that led to a painful defeat.
Presented with the opportunity to move to within a point of the top four, Klopp’s side instead demonstrated just why their progress this season has so far been so frustratingly inconsistent.
The manager conceded he was unhappy with his side’s display and behind closed doors, his assessment would undoubtedly have been much more blunt.
The first half in particular was one that Klopp would like to forget and will make painful repeat viewing when the manager dissects his team’s display. Unable to deal with the speed of Brentford’s counter-attacks and their threat from set-pieces, Liverpool trailed by two goals at the interval following an Ibrahima Konate own-goal and Yoane Wissa’s header. The advantage could have been even greater, and that was without the injured Ivan Toney.
Then, after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s reply early in the second period appeared to signal a Liverpool response, another Konate error allowed Bryan Mbeumo to add a late third for the home side that effectively killed off any hope Klopp’s side had of salvaging anything from the game.
“We are not happy with the performance but we fought back but in the end we played the game they wanted and not the game we wanted,” said Klopp. “It doesn't feel great. It's not that we didn't fight but in the end we are responsible for the defeat.”
Successive victories since the Premier League restart has raised expectations the Reds’s campaign would finally gather a sense of momentum. Against a vibrant and determined Brentford side, however, the defensive frailties that have been a feature of their performances were exposed and after two steps forward, this felt very much like a significant step back.
“We lost, how can it be a step in any other direction?
“We can only change our position by winning. We did not get any points, we cannot take any confidence, nothing from it. We have a lot of players unavailable so we cannot give anyone a rest. That's the situation.”
The stadium DJ went into overdrive after the final whistle as Thomas Frank and his players joined with supporters in celebrating a win that lifted them up to seventh place, a point behind their beaten opponents.
For Klopp and his players, it was a noisy and unwelcome backdrop against which to begin a painful inquest.
“You know before the game how strong they are from corners.
“The game got decided by the second goal which was our fault. We got away with an offside. That's all OK, and then we are not awake, they cross the ball and score the second that decided the game.
“Second half we started super, wonderful goal from Oxlade, that's OK. Then a lot of running down the watch, in a moment when you try to settle again you concede a third goal which should have been disallowed, when you get a push in that moment you go down. The second goal decided the game, third goal should not have been allowed but we should have played better. Brentford with set pieces create chaos.”
The 19th minute opening goal summed up Liverpool's problems and came after the Reds had made a positive start. A swift counter-attack exposed Liverpool’s high-defensive line with Mbeumo out-pacing Virgil van Dijk before Alisson Becker came out to save.
From the resulting corner, though, the ball was allowed to travel through a group of players at the near post before dipping and ricocheting past the Liverpool keeper off Konate’s shin.
Astonishingly Klopp’s side failed to heed that lesson and when Mbeumo delivered a second corner from the right, a messy scramble in front of goal led to Alisson saving twice before Wissa poked the ball home, only to be ruled offside.
There was more to come as Wissa was again ruled offside when he beat Alisson from another corner. That wasn’t the end of the danger, though, as Harvey Elliott’s attempted dummy gifted Brentford possession back immediately after the restart and led to Mathias Jensen floating a cross towards the far post where an unmarked Wissa finally headed his way onto the scoresheet.
Klopp’s assessment of his side’s performance was clear from the triple substitution at half-time including the withdrawal of van Dijk with a muscle injury.
The change was immediate and five minutes into the second period Oxlade-Chamberlain halved the deficit with a glancing header from a superb Trent Alexander-Arnold cross.
The fightback, though, gradually ran out of steam and was ended when Mbeumo forced Konate into another error - Klopp insisted his player was pushed to the ground - before adding the third goal.
“I haven't seen it back in detail but Konate is a big lad,” said Frank, the Brentford manager. “Well done to Bryan.
“I think the players have big belief, we are confident but humble, we need that confidence to believe we can beat anyone in the world. We have a game plan working quite well, we are difficult to break down. We are brave and aggressive but also know how to defend with good structure and sometimes it's just a body on the line.”
Raya 8; Jorgensen 7, Pinnock 7, Mee 8; Roerslev 7, Jensen 7 (Lewis-Potter 73, 6), Norgaard 8, Janelt 7 (Ghoddos 87, 6), Henry 7; Mbeumo 9 (Canós 87, 6), Wissa 8 (Dasilva 73, 6).
Strakosha, Damsgaard, Sorensen, Crama, Trevitt.
Alisson 6; Alexander-Arnold 6, Konate 5, Van Dijk 5 (Matip 46, 6), Tsimikas 4 (Robertson 46, 6); Elliott 4 (Keita 46, 6), Fabinho 6, Thiago 6; Salah 5, Nunez 5, Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 (Jones 84, 6).
Kelleher, Gomez, Carvalho, Bajcetic, Phillips.
Stuart Attwell 7.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
