Klopp: We have to use Palace loss as a lesson
Jürgen Klopp explained how Liverpool can turn Sunday's 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace into a beneficial lesson by learning from the events that led to the manager's first loss.
The Reds entered the Barclays Premier League clash with the Eagles on the back of a run of three successive wins in all competitions, but they fell behind on 20 minutes to a Yannick Bolasie blast.
As rain fell incessantly at Anfield, Klopp’s team attacked continuously and got their reward just before the break when Philippe Coutinho converted at the back post to equalise.
Chances to claim maximum points came and went in the second half and it was the visitors who snatched them instead, Scott Dann nodding home his own rebound with eight minutes left.
“I’m satisfied with some moments but my problem is that you have to play for 95 minutes,” the manager said at his post-match press conference.
“If after the game you are satisfied with 60 minutes, sometimes it’s enough, sometimes it’s not. Today it’s not. Of course, that’s a problem.
“It’s not a problem to lose a game, that’s football and it happens all the time. But we have to learn the right things and if we learn the right things tonight, then it was very important that we lost tonight and good that we lost tonight.
“We have to learn that we decide how strong we are, we decide how good we are, we decide how awake we are, we decide how tired we are – nobody else.
“But one of the biggest [differences] between a very good game against Rubin Kazan and the game today was that there was only one thing to talk about – is it too much? Is it too much playing tournaments?
“I decide if I’m tired, nobody else. If you can start after 15 minutes, then of course you can start in the first second. Today we needed a few minutes to come in and it was too late for this game.
“After 15 minutes, when you saw this, nobody knows why they were 1-0 in the lead. That’s how we have to play, we made many good things. But for today it was not enough.
“We have to learn that we decide; if everybody thinks that we gave everything we have tonight, then it’s wrong.
“Of course we could do more – maybe not running more in this moment, but to be more awake from the beginning, to be clearer, to believe more. I don’t want to use this word too often but we have to learn all this.”
Klopp added: “We decide when it’s over. Of course, the whistle decides, but between 82 and 94 minutes, you could make eight goals if you want and we have to work for that.
“The big decisions are made in the moments when you are tired, when you have a pulse of 180 and then make big decisions – not in an easy game in the first minute and nobody will strike back.
“It’s always when you are under stress. That is everything we can learn. Tonight it feels so bad because it was absolutely not necessary. We have to feel this, we have to keep this and then we will know why we don’t want this anymore.
“We have to learn. We are responsible and that nobody can leave the stadium a minute before the last whistle because everything can happen and that’s what we have to show. We didn’t and things are like the way they are. We can do better – tonight and in general.”
Meanwhile, Klopp expects Liverpool to discover the full extent of the injury that forced Mamadou Sakho from the field on Monday evening.
The centre-back was unable to continue after picking up what appeared to be a knee injury after an awkward landing following an aerial challenge.
Sakho will be assessed tomorrow and undergo a scan, with Klopp confirming: “I don’t know [how bad it is]. It’s too bad that he could not play on but we have to wait for the scan.
“We will do it tomorrow evening because he needs a little bit of time. I don’t want to speculate now and we hope it is not too serious. That was the worst thing today.”