Gerrard: We dropped our standards against Spartak
Steven Gerrard pulled no punches in his assessment of Liverpool U19s' 2-1 defeat to Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Youth League, declaring himself 'frustrated' and 'disappointed'.
The young Reds failed to build on a 4-0 victory over Sevilla in their opening game of the competition as they were downed in the Russian capital on Tuesday afternoon.
Adam Lewis had given the visitors an early lead, firing in a fantastic strike from the edge of the box, but their advantage was overturned by goals in each half from Aleksandr Rudenko.
Reflecting on his side’s overall display, a brutally honest Gerrard told Liverpoolfc.com: “I’m feeling very similar to the players - frustrated, disappointed, and it hurts.
“Against Sevilla we were excellent and it was probably a nine out of 10 performance. We praised them after the game and told them they had raised the bar really high.
“We are not expecting that from them in every game because every game is different and we played on astroturf against a tough team and knew it would be a tough test.
“But, if we got the same effort, the same determination and desire we showed against Sevilla, we could have got a result out of this game. Unfortunately, our big players didn’t turn up and we made individual mistakes around the game.
“The players are disappointed in themselves but if you want to be a big player for this football club, if you are at home to Sevilla you have got to perform, and when it’s a more tricky test away from home you’ve got to stand up and be counted and apply yourself in the same way.
“The disappointing thing from our point of view is our big players, the exciting players in the front half of the pitch, never really turned up."
LFCTV GO: Watch highlights from the U19s defeat in Moscow
After seeing his side start their UEFA Youth League campaign with a win and a defeat, Gerrard insisted they remain capable of making an impression in the competition.
However, the former Liverpool captain stressed the importance of improved teamwork going forward.
He added: “Spartak managed the game better than us and they played more as a team.
“I thought we were very individual and I thought people were searching for the headlines and a bit of glory themselves instead of connecting as a team.
“When we defend well and get the ball into the right areas of the pitch and play as a team like we did against Sevilla we can be absolutely devastating. So, the learning curve for the players from this game is we have to play as a team.
“We can all get the praise and adulation together but once you start taking things into your own hands and complicating the game it can stand out a mile.
“This is an excellent competition and we want to do well in it. We are capable of doing that but we’ve had two performances and they have been very different.
“Moving forward I’m very confident that when they come over to England we’ve got enough quality and enough talent to do a job on them, but we have to play as a team.”