Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle United: Jürgen Klopp's reaction

Mohamed Salah's 20th Premier League goal of the season after just three minutes set the Reds on course for victory on Saturday, with Klopp's team then creating a host of opportunities to add to their lead.

However, they failed to score again and were punished in the 95th minute when Joe Willock levelled for Newcastle, shortly after Callum Wilson had seen a goal disallowed for handball following a VAR review.

Read on for a transcript of Klopp's post-match press conference...

On how tough the result was to take given the chances Liverpool created…

Very. Very tough to take but there is nobody else to blame but ourselves. When you create chances like we created today and you don't use them then you keep the game open. That's what we did, but again, that's football – the oldest and most important football rule [is] you better use your chances when you have them because they will come back again. That's what we didn't do and that's why in the end Newcastle deserve a point because they scored a goal that was disallowed and as far as I remember it was the first time we were lucky with VAR, to be honest, but we didn't even take that present. We gave them another one, they used that, so it's a 1-1.

On whether the result is a blow to Liverpool's top-four hopes…

Yes of course, but actually to go to top four depends all on the results we get on the pitch – and with these kind of games you don't get that. Outside, people told me that against the bottom six of the table we got altogether five points, or something like that, which is absolutely obviously not OK, with all respect. We had in all these games, I am pretty sure, a lot of chances and we didn't use them, so we are where we are. Now, I need time to be frustrated, I need time to be angry and when that is over then we go again. But with results like this, you will not make big steps.

On whether the disallowed goal affected the players' concentration…

No, I am not sure exactly, we played on quite a while, but lost concentration, no. It was a massive warning sign obviously. When the ball is in the air, you have to avoid two things – the first thing is, the ball going into the box and that's only possible when you are there where they shoot the ball into the box. For that you should not stand too deep, which we were in a couple of moments because in the box a lot of things can happen. We cannot defend like they can attack; they can take the risk, we can't because of penalties and all these kind of things. We lose this little challenge and then he [Willock] is free in front of Ali and then deflected on top of that. I don't think it was a concentration thing, but it was bad enough to give them the chance to score.

On improving Liverpool's strike rate in front of goal after a number of missed chances…

There is only one way: to go again, to go again, to go again. In training you can believe me that we do often enough finishing when we have time to train – and we have now time to train, obviously, so it's not about that. You can see it: in a positive face, in a really positive face, you miss chances but it is just that nobody talks about them. When you have a really good game, you have 25 shots and like 10 or 12 are on target, [but] most of the time only two or three of them are in and that means you miss a lot of chances in good games, in really good games. But you don't care because you are in a positive moment and you just know, 'OK, good information, that's how we do it, that's how we should do it again and then we can score…' In our situation obviously still, which is tough to accept but we see it, we score with the first, don't score with the second, don't score with the third, don't score with the fourth and stuff like this and then obviously the confidence drops and you can see that. That's not OK, but it happened and that's why these situations are different, but the only way you can do it is you have to create, you have to create chances and you have to bring yourself into positions from where you can score. That's what we will do.

On whether his team currently lack the resolve they have become renowned for when things go against them during games…

It's like this: in tricky moments, so things don't go your way easily, it's not clicking constantly, these kind of things, the only chance you have is to fight yourself. That means that you really go against it, there is no chance, nothing is allowed, there is no drop-off [in] body language or whatever is allowed at all – you just have to go, to go, to go. I see the same, you said it as well, [that] when things go against us it doesn't look like, 'Now we strike back immediately', which is difficult when there are only two minutes to play and you concede a late goal but what I mean in these moments is you miss chances. When you miss chances, that's just information – a missed chance is just an information. It means you came into the right space, you could cause them problems, so do it again. If you need a little adaptation then do it, but get there again in the right situation. For example, the second half didn't start as well as the first half ended football-wise, all of a sudden they had kind of possession. That was completely unnecessary. How I said, we are very critical – in that case anyway because we know the only people to blame for that is us, so we have to do that and we will do that. But it's not about, and it never was in football, a miracle formula where you say: 'OK, if you do that, everything will be fine again.' No, you have to work for it and that is what we will do.

On whether his side now 'expect it to happen' in terms of things going against them…

Twenty years in the business, these situations, these phases, you always have them. It's clear, so the only way to deny the other team really is by keeping the ball. Just keep the ball. We had that situation and we had it in the past. Two years ago in the season, in a lot of games we were 2-0 up and then we controlled the game, just controlled the game – we didn't attack, they didn't attack. We had the ball, we let them run until they nearly vomit, let me say it like this. Today then we lose patience in moments like this, it was like, 'Try here, pass the ball through' in not necessary moments. It's not about not creating – no, no, you can create, but without forgetting about the protection to give them then counter-attacks, losing the ball in the wrong moments, there is no need for that, so that's controlling a game and we didn't do that well enough, to be honest. That is what gave Newcastle step by step… of course they took all the risk in the end, pretty much all the strikers they have were on the pitch, that's all clear. But they didn't do anything with that, they scored a goal [and] it was handball and we were lucky with that, and the goal they scored in the end was a high ball into the box and there were a lot of people in the box so we could have won that as well, but we didn't. That's why Willock was free in front of the goal and the ball was deflected and equaliser. Tough to take but not to change.

On whether he is concerned that it is too simplistic to expect Liverpool to return to their best when their injured players are fit again and fans are allowed back inside Anfield…

No, no. Each player in the world needs momentum, needs positive feedback. The long-term solutions are fine, but the short term we have to think about and work on. It's not too simplistic, I know it's not only because the season is over and some defenders come back we will all of a sudden play again, but we have to become again a very, very tricky team to play against, an angry team in a positive football way, these kind of things. That's what we have to become again. So we have now the chance, now definitely we have nothing to lose anymore, it's definitely like this because now we are in the situation… OK, West Ham and Chelsea cannot both win [on Saturday] but one of them can win and they are four or five points away. That doesn't look likely. We play Man United away, they are in a good moment, it all doesn't look likely. But if we play like this, if we don't finish games like this off, why should you play Champions League? That's the question. We said, now we had a full week to speak about it: we want to deserve the Champions League, we don't want to be cheeky and come in somehow, we want to earn it and with these results you don't earn it. That means it's all on the table, go for it, and now we will talk about it, you can imagine that. But in the moment it feels really close to being unacceptable, but we have to accept it anyway.

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