Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool’s rigorous schedule has caught up with them, blaming a lack of ruthlessness for their FA Cup loss against Manchester United.
The Reds were defeated 4-3 in their quarter-final against their bitter North West rivals on Sunday afternoon, with a goal scored in the penultimate minute of extra time.
It was Klopp’s 18th game since the turn of the year, and his side was still without a number of injured players, including centre-back Ibrahima Konate.
And the Reds manager believes that too many of his players were exhausted during the extra period, which could have been averted had the visitors used their chances in a one-sided second half.
“Today was on and above the edge, it was really tough for us,” Klopp told reporters. “United had a much stronger start and scored the first goal. We needed to improve our organisation; we battled with man-marking and did not play enough.
“Then we found a way to play, got into a groove, looked extremely good, and deserved to lead 2-1. The second half was outstanding, and we performed exceptionally well here.
“But we didn’t finish the game, and when you leave the door open away from home at Old Trafford, it’s evident they’ll get chances to equalise, and Marcus (Rashford) had a great chance at the end of regular time.
“It was then quite difficult for us. That was the first time I watched my squad really struggle, and that is how it is. We recently played a lot of football, and we went up 3-2, which was fine, but they won 4-3.
“Come on, you can easily accept that; congratulations, United. They battled pretty hard as well. You want to advance to the semi-finals, and both teams recognized the significance of the event and competition.”
Mohamed Salah, who had scored Liverpool’s second goal, and Dominik Szoboszlai were changed in the second half, but Klopp concedes that even having tired players, the absence of senior choices on the bench made it impossible to introduce fresh legs during a hectic extra session.
“The problem was we didn’t even know who to take off,” he told me. “For a while, it was OK; 90 minutes would have sufficed, but there were no options in extra time. We talk about the kids, but we’ve always maintained you need to bring them in at the correct time.
“Macca was clearly exhausted, Wata was definitely tired, Darwin was definitely tired, and we did it with Lucho, Joey. The lads play all the time, and that is how it is.
“The manner in which we conceded the last two goals demonstrates that we were no longer at our peak performance. We handed away the balls, and there is no criticism of that. I witnessed a team that recognized the importance of the game and gave their all today, but it wasn’t enough. And that’s what we must accept.
