Manager Jurgen Klopp admits that Liverpool did not play as well as expected in the 2-3 defeat against Toulouse in the fourth round of the Europa League Group E.
“Liverpool deserved to lose because Toulouse won many decisive battles,” Klopp said after the match. “We had too many situations where we should have won the ball but couldn’t. Above all, we conceded at least two goals too easily. Defensively, that is not good enough.”
Klopp also regrets that Liverpool almost equalized 3-3 and secured a point. According to him, it wouldn’t have made Liverpool better if that had happened, but it would have given a more comfortable feeling about the overall standings. “It is what it is, so we have to accept it. As I said, Liverpool deserved to lose.”
Klopp also believes that Liverpool’s defense stood too deep, revealing many vulnerabilities and providing opportunities for the opponents to counterattack. He does not accept that the players conceded two goals in the same scenario.
However, Klopp is not pessimistic about the style of play and the players. He believes the team needs to make changes and is confident they will do so.
On the evening of November 9, Klopp started several reserve players. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Alisson, wing-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, forward Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah, and Diogo Jota all started on the bench. In the 36th minute, after a mistake by left-back Kostas Tsimikas, the English team conceded the opening goal from a shot by Aron Donnum. In the 58th minute, a similar scenario unfolded. After stealing the ball on Liverpool’s left wing, Vincent Sierro crossed into the box for Thijs Dallinga to double the lead.
Liverpool pulled one back, thanks to an own goal by Cristian Casseres in the 74th minute. But just two minutes later, Frank Magri’s close-range shot extended Toulouse’s lead to 3-1. In addition to the three goals, the home team had two disallowed shots.
Towards the end of the match, Liverpool rallied. In the 89th minute, Jota reduced the deficit to 2-3 after a breakthrough through the middle. The score could have been 3-3 if Jarell Quansah’s goal in injury time had been recognized. VAR ruled that Alexis Mac Allister had touched the ball with his hand in the build-up.
The defeat to Toulouse made Liverpool miss the opportunity to secure a spot in the Europa League knockout stage after just two matches. Klopp’s team still tops Group E with nine points after four matches, but they are only two points ahead of Toulouse. In the last two matches, Liverpool must perform well to secure a spot and maintain the top position. The group leader will advance directly to Round 16. Meanwhile, the second-placed team must play a playoff against the third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage.
