PRESS CONFERENCE:  Jürgen Klopp’s verdict on Bournemouth 1-0 Liverpool

PRESS CONFERENCE:  Jürgen Klopp’s verdict on Bournemouth 1-0 Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp has described a “very, very, very frustrating” day after Liverpool’s 1-0 loss to AFC Bournemouth.

The Reds were thwarted in the Premier League at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, where Philip Billing netted the hosts’ 28th-minute winner and Mohamed Salah missed a second-half penalty.

Below is a summary of Klopp’s verdict on the defeat in his post-match press conference…

On his disappointment with the performance…

I am very. The game was pretty much the opposite of what we wanted to show and do today. I think we played the game Bournemouth wanted to play for about 95 minutes and maybe a few minutes, a few moments, we did what we wanted to do. I think in the first half our two or three best moments were similar: finding the half space, going from there behind the last line. We scored a goal which was disallowed for offside but it was still a good situation, we played well, we had other situations in the same way. We had great chances from set pieces that we didn’t take, like, how do you say that, child’s play or whatever where we have to score but don’t.

But in one situation; It wasn’t the only situation Bournemouth had, but it was one of those situations Bournemouth had when we went behind our last line, found the half-spaces there and we didn’t get enough well marked in those moments, and Ali for once couldn’t save us then. I haven’t seen the ball cross the line yet, there were players between me and the situation so I couldn’t see that. 0:1 behind; 45, 50 minutes to sort it out. I think we started the second half well, our situations were a bit clearer, getting a penalty, missing the penalty. Now, of course, that’s hypothetical – it kinda looked like we were going to score there, it doesn’t improve the game in the first half, but it would give us a decent boost. But we didn’t score from that and then you could see we were a bit rushed, didn’t create enough, Bournemouth fought massively on counter attacks, with a lot of passion, won those balls and then the boys from Bournemouth really showed their quality, how they kept the ball. We couldn’t defend them at all, so we had to track them down and defend them there. I don’t remember, maybe a big chance for them or a great finish, the rest we defended, but still it’s quite tiring and then you have to go back to their penalty area, and so we lost the game. Very, very, very frustrating, yes.

As to whether this setback is more frustrating because it comes after last weekend’s 7-0 win…

Setbacks are setbacks, but we’re in the situation that we’re in because of setbacks, that’s the way it is. And also for the good performance we are in the situation we are in; not only have we had setbacks, but we have had too many, that much is clear. Today was a good day, there’s no doubt about that. Now we have to do it and we will. One of the things we’ve learned this season is dealing with adversity. We have to make sure we recover well, because we also have an important game on Wednesday. Then there’s the break for the national teams, I hope they all come back healthy. Then we have the football week of all football weeks in terms of opponents. There is a lot to do, but today is not the time for me to talk about it. This game was a huge hit and how is it with punches you have to take them you have to see how big the scars are and then you go from there

The fact that Liverpool have not conceded a penalty in the Premier League since last April may have influenced Salah’s mistake…

NO. I think we should have received more penalties; I can’t tell you when exactly, but there were many situations. It’s not important. A situation where Mo Salah commits a foul and doesn’t even get a free kick, so obviously you can do anything with Mo on the pitch like holding and stuff like that and he doesn’t get [fouled]. It has nothing to do with the result, you just asked me about penalties. We had a penalty, we missed it. They help when we deserve them, a team that’s usually pretty dominant and we’re often in the opposition box, that was a weird thing we didn’t have. Now we had one and missed it, so end of story.

If he’s worried about his team’s away record this season… Worried, yes I see it. I think we’re in the top four at home, if I’m right. As for away games, we are not even in Europe. There’s always a reason for the situation you’re in and our away record is definitely [one of them]. We could have had more points at home too – or maybe we should have. Gone, sure. It’s been a great strength of ours over the years, it’s made a real difference, but that’s when you’re successful when you consistently do things right with the quality that we have we stand a good chance of winning or getting away too. Not often enough this season. It’s an obvious point, to be honest.