Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp knows that his men didn’t have the required performance to beat Arsenal in Sunday’s 3-1 loss, and he credited the Gunners for their victory.
A neutral would understand that, as the Gunners dominated the first half and the statistics back their win even if it required rare and big errors from Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk.
Yet Klopp says things might’ve been different had bounces, or those mistakes, not gone against the Reds.
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“We gave them all the momentum and us the opposite [on the second goal],” Klopp said on Peacock Premium after the game. “Against such a strong opponent like Arsenal it’s really difficult to turn it around.
“We didn’t play enough from the start. We still had possession, it was fine, and we just didn’t have enough finishes. We found Trent on the wing and the ball flew in and Arsenal were under pressure. But I really thought in the first half we went step-by-step to get in the game.”
“In general it was not our day.”
Liverpool’s now lost only two Premier League matches this season, but this one stings as even a draw would’ve hampered Arsenal’s chances to catch them. And it would’ve been a point or three that could make all the difference as Manchester City bids to make up ground on both.
Klopp, however, is not worried even if he’s unhappy with the performance.
“I’m not over the moon,” Klopp said. “I don’t think we couldn’t have played better. But that’s life you take that and work with that. A lot of things were against of us today.
“This referee gave me a red card against Man City for wrestling situation between Bernardo Silva and Mo Salah. Today same situation with Diogo Jota but I didn’t get a red card.
“It is unbelievable, then holding Havertz on Konate for the first yellow card. Then Havertz goes down and the referee gives Konate a yellow card. Gabriel does the same to Nunez and no yellow card. So it’s not about we should play better but everything went against us.”
Virgil van Dijk reaction — ‘I made the wrong decision’
As for Virgil van Dijk, give the man credit for stepping to the post-game microphone after a rare but brutal error helped Arsenal seize all three points.
Van Dijk misread the pace on a long, hopeful Arsenal pass, choosing to let his goalkeeper Alisson Becker deal with the ball outside the 18 rather than hoof it sideways as both felt the heat from pressing Gabriel Martinelli.
Alisson, for his part, bailed on kicking the ball as it appeared he would’ve clipped Van Dijk’s leg first. And then the star goalkeeper was nutmegged on Arsenal’s third goal after Ibrahima Konate had been sent off.
“Uncharacteristic,” Van Dijk said. “It’s a very long ball, an awkward ball. I should just clear it but I decided to let it bounce and let [Alisson] sort it out. I’m very unlucky that Martinelli touches me first. I made the wrong decision. I should’ve headed it away.”
Van Dijk was asked if the mistake will stay with him tonight.
“I don’t like losing. We haven’t lost a Premier League game since September. It will definitely hurt. And I feel that responsibility every game. Before the 2-1 we were dominating and had them on the ropes. We gave them a massive boost. It shouldn’t happen but sometimes these things happen in football. I have to deal with it. We have to deal with it. And we will. I’m not trying to hide.”