Jurgen Klopp made the surprise claim that his Liverpool side should have beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford despite ending up on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline.
Liverpool are still searching for their first win of the new Premier League season after defeat at Old Trafford in a game that they rarely looked like getting anything out of. The Reds were second-best for the overwhelming majority of the tie, even with a nervy finish for the hosts following Mohamed Salah's consolation goal.
Klopp's side found themselves 1-0 down inside 16 minutes after Jadon Sancho's composed penalty box prowess came to the fore to hand United the lead. England international Sancho sold both James Milner and Alisson Becker with a stunning dummy before calmly slotting the ball home.
The goal sparked an angry inquest, with Milner and Virgil van Dijk engaging in a frank exchange of words in the immediate aftermath. Things were to get worse after half-time, with Liverpool 's failure to gain any kind of foothold in midfield coming back to hurt them yet again.
Jordan Henderson surrendered possession to Anthony Martial, who released Marcus Rashford through on goal. United's number 10 did not disappoint, firing beyond Alisson. The goal was given after a VAR check to double the Reds' rivals lead.
Old Trafford was bouncing with the spirit from the home faithful mirrored by the efforts of Erik ten Hag's side, but Liverpool looked dramatically short of their usual high standards. Therefore, it comes as a surprise that Klopp feels his side should have left with all three points. "It's obvious we are in a tricky situation, we get through the week with 14 players available and we have to make sure none of them get injured now," the Reds boss explained.
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"There are no real options left anymore, even with our situation. We should have won this game, I know that sounds ridiculous, but that is how I see it – we lost it and now we go from here.
Pressed for comment on whether he was worried about the club's slow start to the season, Klopp added: "How concerned I am? I'm not sure, I am concerned about our situation but it is how it is. We deal with it and we feel we can play better, we know that. We have to accept it tonight and from tomorrow we will fight against it."
The middle of the park appeared to be the root of all of Liverpool's problem, with the Reds ageing midfield run ragged by their younger United counterparts. Both Henderson and Milner were substituted long before the full-time whistle.
Two points from a possible nine marks a miserable start to the campaign for a Liverpool side that have seen their title aspirations take a significant dent inside the first three weeks of the season.
