“We had an extreme number of shots… playing a little bit better, if we were a little more convinced about what we do we should’ve won this game. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s how I see it,”

said Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool’s performance in 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

On Monday Night Football, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claimed his team would have defeated Manchester United if they had played “a little bit better,” but he also acknowledged he was worried about his team’s injury issues. 

Despite their first league loss at Old Trafford since March 2018, Klopp defended his team’s performance, saying that after Jadon Sancho’s 16th-minute goal, Liverpool “played the game we wanted to play.”

Klopp recounts, “I saw a good performance, if we score the equaliser at any time it is not the biggest surprise. We could have won the game tonight if we had played slightly better.”

That evaluation was made despite a defensive showing that Jamie Carragher called “embarrassing” and a loss that left Liverpool without a win in their first three league games for the first time in 10 years. The Reds were at times completely outclassed by United’s ferocity and running.

He then shares “Then they scored the goal, and we took over, and played the game we wanted to play, more or less. We were unlucky with situations, especially around set-pieces. I don’t know how one ball didn’t go in, in a game like this against an opponent like United it would be very helpful if we could score in that moment and go in 1-1 at half-time,” said Klopp.”

He continues saying, “”Even with our situation, but playing a little bit better, if we were a little more convinced about what we do we should’ve won this game. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s how I see it.”

Thiago, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, and other members of Liverpool’s first team were once more absent, and Fabinho was only on the bench for the Reds’ biggest match of the year. 

Klopp has previously stated that he has no plans to bring in new players, but after Liverpool’s loss at Old Trafford left them with just two points after three games, he acknowledged his concern over their injury list and performance.

Thiago, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, and other members of Liverpool’s first team were once more absent, and Fabinho was only on the bench for the Reds’ biggest match of the year. 

Klopp has previously stated that he has no plans to bring in new players, but after Liverpool’s loss at Old Trafford left them with just two points after three games, he acknowledged his concern over their injury list and performance.

He further asserts regarding the injury issue, “”It’s obvious we are in a tricky situation injury-wise, we get through the week with 14-15 senior players available, we have to make sure none of them get injured because there’s no real options left any more,” he added.

“I’m concerned about our situation, it’s not easy at the moment but that’s how it is. We prepare now for Bournemouth, Newcastle and Everton – that’s how it is. We can play better, we know that, but we had a lot of good moments and performances today. From tomorrow, we will fight against it.”

Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool defender, disclosed that his former team had not earned anything from the match at Old Trafford. He also drew attention to a larger problem, in which the Reds have now started the game slowly in each of their previous seven Premier League games.

“Liverpool didn’t deserve to win this game,” he says. “If they’d got the 2-2 back towards the end it would’ve been a great point, but it wouldn’t have felt like justice within the stadium.”

“Sometimes we look at stats and look at them and use them a lot, if you looked at them tonight without watching the game you’d think Liverpool dominated Manchester United. It didn’t feel like that watching it,” he continues to say.

“When a team goes 1-0 or 2-0 up they’ll drop off and say come and break us down, especially against Liverpool because you know at this moment they’re having problems breaking teams down, and you can always get at them on the counter-attack. That is a big problem for Liverpool at the moment, too often teams are getting through. Even when Liverpool were in possession tonight, I still felt Man Utd were more dangerous.

“Liverpool didn’t deserve anything from the game.”