Highlights: Liverpool 2-2 Brighton
A brilliant early strike from Jordan Henderson was added to by Sadio Mane’s header as the Reds went 2-0 up by the midway point of the first half.
However, Brighton halved their deficit before half-time through Enock Mwepu and Leandro Trossard equalised midway through the second period of a keenly contested match that featured several excellent saves from Alisson Becker.
Read on for a transcript of Klopp’s post-match press conference, during which he confirmed that Naby Keita was forced off in the first half with a hamstring injury…
On the result and Liverpool’s performance…
I cannot change it now, [but] it feels like a defeat even though I know it’s not a defeat. It is a deserved point for Brighton, obviously, for different reasons. It’s unnecessary because in our good moments we were really good, we showed how you have to play against Brighton but then with not playing enough football anymore, we opened the door for them. The best way to defend Brighton is to have the ball yourself and that’s what we didn’t do for long enough. That’s why we scored the two goals, which were incredible, especially the two goals which were disallowed were incredible. Sadio’s second goal was my favourite goal of all six years in Liverpool because of how we put them under pressure there; it was just insane and unlucky with the handball. Then they scored their goal – not sure if it was a cross or not, but who cares because the ball was in – and we didn’t play enough football anymore, not the right football. In our good moments, we attacked the centre of Brighton, which is where you have to do it and then we didn’t do that anymore. We slowed the game down in the wrong moments, we didn’t show enough initiative in other moments and that’s then just not good enough. I think after Mo’s goal in the second half, which was disallowed, I can’t remember a lot [of chances] – maybe in the last four or five minutes we were a bit more on the front foot again, but apart from that we just tried to calm the game down when we had the ball and defended them when they had the ball. They scored a wonderful second goal and that’s why they deserve a point.
On how Liverpool need to improve defensively…
There are different things, it is not always the same. I know now when we talk now about defending and the whole football world will say that’s why I am a pretty well-paid coach, but I don’t discuss on that level. It’s not only the last line, it’s not only a centre-half, it’s a common thing. Today we didn’t defend the half-spaces right anymore and that was our problem there. With the way Brighton plays – I think I heard the word ‘adventurous’ a few times today and that’s probably the right thing to say because they are pretty [much] on the front foot in these moments – if you don’t defend the half-spaces well then the last line has to drop a little bit, which makes no sense because they play between the lines and all this kind of stuff. All of a sudden it is then not to defend anymore and that’s how it is. I know now I speak about Brighton and because the world is a bit strange people just still don’t respect the quality they have. They might not win 35 games a season, but 38 times they give to each team a proper game, definitely, because the things they do and the talent they have they are really good. Again, that is their quality and our quality should have been today – and the best way to defend them would have been to have had the ball and to do smart or clever stuff. That’s what we didn’t do enough and that’s why we opened the door for them coming back into the game and we paid the price for it, that’s how it is.
On why he felt Liverpool ‘opened the door for Brighton’…
It is now a bit quick after the game to say anything immediately, [but] I think it is not nice to know how good Brighton are and then to score two goals which were disallowed. I didn’t see it back, but I think it was probably close. The way Sadio celebrated – he knows a handball will be a disallowed goal, so I don’t think he had it in mind that it could be disallowed. Mo’s goal was incredible play, wow, so then [we] don’t get that. We have many more games than Brighton and all these kind of things. They played during the week as well, of course, but we all had a lot of changes. I could see in the second half, I was not overly happy with the body language of some and that’s obviously then never helpful, but you can get through these periods in a game – but just not against Brighton because they were here to get a result, they got a result, they deserve it and that’s it.
On Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s display and his switch to the left of midfield in the second half…
We changed system second half at a specific point. We couldn’t defend the width anymore, obviously we tried to fix that with changing to a 4-4-2, that was with Oxlade going to the left wing and Sadio to the right. Apart from that, he set up the second goal, Sadio’s goal, with a nice cross and that’s it. And then he was part of the bunch playing more or less ‘yes or no’. They all can play better football like Ox can play better football, but anyhow it’s good. He played 70 minutes round about and that’s good for him. He had 90 during the week and today 70, so now let’s see how he can recover and what we can do with that on Wednesday.
On Graham Potter’s abilities as a coach…
He has all you need, he definitely has all you need. I don’t know Graham now too well, I think what I can say is he is an absolutely nice fella and then what I can say is that his team mirrors his ability and that’s really good. He has obviously a clear idea about football and he is doing a brilliant job. I don’t want to talk the coach of Brighton away to some other clubs, but I think he should not worry about his future. But again, I don’t want to take anything away from Brighton, I respect a lot what they did, but today was the day where we could have given them a proper knock and we didn’t do it. I don’t like a draw at home at all, but I am not that guy who says it is not possible to draw against Brighton – no, no, no. But my disappointment is because I know today was the day when we could have given them a proper one, and we didn’t do it. That’s the frustration. Then we talk maybe differently but that doesn’t say anything bad about Graham Potter because the way they play is really good, but against us it should have been not enough today – but it was, because of us.
On what his exchange with Virgil van Dijk in the second half was about…
Don’t know 100 per cent, we have conversations quite a lot of times. So, there is never one explanation, you cannot now make a massive story of that because I said before we didn’t defend the half-spaces right. That’s the problem. When the guy on the ball is not under pressure, you cannot have a high last line, so then the last line drops in that moment and all of a sudden we put pressure on it and then they have to push up again. So, these kind of things, we have clear rules, clear moments for when we do what. It’s not an easy one. Now I know it [what the exchange was about], it was the one where March was pretty much the only player up front for Brighton and Virgil was too far away. In that moment it was about that but yes, a normal coach-player talk.
On Keita’s injury…
He showed me the hamstring and how people told me, it’s hamstring. I cannot say more.