Jurgen Klopp has admitted his Liverpool side are struggling with confidence issues when trying to find reasons behind the Reds' slow start to matches after they drew 3-3 with Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
Conceding the first goal for the 12th time from their last 17 matches, Liverpool trailed after just four minutes and were 2-0 down inside 17 minutes against the Seagulls thanks to Leandro Trossard’s first-half brace. A Roberto Firmino brace of his own and Adam Webster own goal then turned the game on its head, only for the Belgian to net his hat-trick late on to ensure a share of the spoils.
The result leaves the Reds ninth in the table, 11 points behind leaders Arsenal and seven points behind reigning champions Man City, who they play in their next two Premier League matches, as well as four points off fourth-placed Brighton.
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And speaking after his side’s latest dropped points, Klopp admitted his side were caught out by Brighton’s system and are struggling to adapt in such situations when explaining Liverpool’s slow starts in matches.
“It is normal that you adapt,” he told reporters after the final whistle. “When we play Brentford, you watch them and they play football against everyone. Not against us, just long balls. I can expect that. All of a sudden they might start playing football because now it makes sense against Liverpool.
“It happens quite frequently that teams play differently against us that we can’t prepare for. I’m not even sure if today was a slow start, it was just our gaps in the areas where they want to play were too big.
“They build up with three at the back so Bobby had to do differently, midfield had to do different so we needed the passes to the outside, but we were fixed with the full backs in deep with their wing backs.
“It’s not rocket science but it happens. You realise it, you sort it. We have a lot of solutions but before we were in the solution mood, we were already 2-0 down. Then you saw the difference in the game.
“They still had their moments but we started controlling the game better and scored the goal. At half-time, we showed the boys two or three situations. We came out, did much better, even without flying, but it is normal, 2-1 down against an opponent that can counter as well.
“Score 2-2, score 3-2. I am guilty as well, I knew we had to work through it. We had these situations before, late equalisers. The teams who equalised against us in the past deserved it less than Brighton today. It happened anyway. It is a moment we have to keep going through it together. It’s all I can say.”
Given such frequent lapses, Klopp conceded his side’s confidence is low at the moment as he was left ruing the timing of the international break following Liverpool’s last-minute win over Ajax last month.
“I’m not sure if concerning is the right word but we can’t ignore the fact,” he said. “For sure the Ajax win didn’t give us any kind of rhythm because after that we left. That’s clear, that’s something you normally get in those situations.
“Momentum with the late goal, late winner, we could have taken a lot of things into the next game but unfortunately we didn’t play. Since then that feeling is pretty much gone.
“The boys played completely different systems, different opponents in different areas of the planet. It’s how it always is. After Ajax, I know 100 percent what everyone expects from me now, two or three things to say and everybody feels okay but after that it was done.
“It’s like it is always is in difficult moments, you have to fight and be ready to fight hard so step by step that you get confidence back, momentum back.
“We had confident moments today. Bobby scoring the second goal, you could see that. And we had other moments, good moments. But the passing game was not good today, we passed balls all over the place.
“That’s only explained by not being confident at the moment. We are under pressure, we don’t ignore that, we don't increase it every day but it is there. We want to do much better, we want more points, we want to be in a different area in the table. That’s all clear.
“And then we are 2-0 down against a really good opponent. That’s the truth. They always cause us problems here. We had games here where we were running between them and they were just playing between the lines. They do really well. We have to keep working.”
He continued: “We have to improve, that only happens if we perform. We have to perform more consistently. I cannot say what everyone wants to hear, it’s just the reality.
“The process started already but from tonight on, we will prepare Rangers and try and do better. Arsenal is coming. We saw glimpses of the game against Tottenham. They are outstanding in the moment. It is not an easy game but we will give it a try.”
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