Jurgen Klopp has admitted his decision to leave Darwin Nunez out of the starting lineup was “maybe” a mistake in the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal.
Eyebrows were raised before kick-off when the Uruguayan – who has started in all four Premier League games since the reverse fixture before Christmas – was listed among the substitutes at the Emirates.
Cody Gakpo took the forward’s place in the top-of-the-table clash, but the manager was asked if his side missed some of Nunez’s qualities during the defeat.
“Maybe, but that was not our problem,” the boss told Sky Sports after the contest.
“Everything went against us!” ?
Jurgen Klopp wasn’t happy with refereeing decisions during Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal… pic.twitter.com/F3nfEpAIHI
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 4, 2024
“We didn’t play enough football. We had a completely new right triangle, we need to get used to that.
“We were not really involved in the game enough, we didn’t use Trent in the way we wanted him because we wanted Trent on the wing more in that situation.
“So many things that you think of before the game could have worked better, but in the end they didn’t.”
It is a loss that keeps the title race wide open, with Man City also set to get the chance to reduce the five-point gap away to Brentford on Monday night.
Klopp maintained a positive tone when assessing what the result means for the overall picture, adding that luck went against his team in certain moments.
“I don’t think we couldn’t have played better today, yes we could, but I take that,” he continued.
“That’s what it is that’s life, you take that and work with it, and that’s what we will do.
“We should have played better, but everything went in these moments against us.
“It helps if you have the players in the right positions, and then you can do things, it’s just how it is again.
“We lost the game, that’s fact. The way? Strange. Could we have played better? Yes. Will we have to play better? Oh yes definitely and we will, I am not in doubt about that.
“For now, we have to congratulate Arsenal. Well done, well deserved, and we keep going.”
