Klopp downbeat
LIVERPOOL. - Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool need to start converting their chances after losing 2-0 on aggregate to Southampton in the EFL Cup soccer semi-finals on Wednesday night.
The Reds were unable to make a second consecutive final in the competition as an injury-time goal from Shane Long, coupled with Nathan Redmond’s first-leg strike, ensured Southampton progressed to the Wembley show-piece.
Liverpool dominated much of the second half, with a number of decisions going against the home side, but Klopp was clear on why his side lost the two-legged fixture.
“We didn’t score, that’s it,” he told Sky Sports. “We could have scored four or five times in the second half.
“When we are part of things like a handball, it could be nice to hear a whistle from the referee. I don’t know how often it has happened this season and usually we say nothing about it and you think ‘after Man United, it was a clear offside goal and nobody says anything’ and today, a clear handball and no one says anything.
“We need to score goals. We cannot compare this game to other games. Today, we conceded one after the counter-attack. In the first half, they had two or three good counter-attacks, but that’s it.
“We played good football today so I am fine with the performance, I am fine with a lot of things but it’s a cup game, nobody cares how you play, you have to win to get to the final.”
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Liverpool played on the front foot for most of the match, and Klopp said his side created more than enough chances to win the tie.
“Today, Southampton played a pretty good counter-attacking game,” Klopp added. “I think we did really well, we cannot create more chances than we did in the second half. You cannot play more dominant.
“It is really difficult because they are a counter attacking threat and you have to take risks but too many risks leads - nearly all the time - to a counter-attack. We had big, big chances but no luck so it was a good save then a lucky save from Fraser Forster. The referee again didn’t see the handball of Shane Long and that doesn’t help in a game like this. We only need one opener for the game.
“We played well and it’s really difficult when a team like Southampton played like they did today but you have to create chances and we have six or seven really big chances but you have to score, of course. That’s what we didn’t do and we lost.” - Sky Sports.