LIVERPOOL, England: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp urged his players to “fight through” their disappointing start to the season, meaning they are 11 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal after Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.
After falling two goals in the space of 17 minutes at Anfield, Liverpool seemed to have given the stuttering campaign a boost by turning the game on its head and leading 3-2 in the final 10 minutes.
But Leandro Trossard’s late equalizer to complete his hat-trick leaves ninth-placed Liverpool with just 10 points from their seven games at the start of a busy October that could decide or break their season.
“We have to fight our way through that,” said Klopp. “The lads can play much better. My job is to create a situation where we can play much better and for that you need stability.
“We have to control the game, which we’ve been talking about for two or three years.
“You have to work step by step to regain confidence. We had self-confident moments today, but our passing game wasn’t good today, we passed balls everywhere. We can also defend every goal much better.”
The way Liverpool start games matters a great deal to fans as their incoherent performance in Saturday’s opening games leaves yet another mountain to climb.
Klopp’s side have now conceded their first goal in nine of their last 11 league games, with Brighton dominating the opening 20 minutes in new manager Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge.
“Confidence is not exceptionally high,” added Klopp. “We want to regain the confidence and we want to strengthen it. The first goal and the second goal didn’t help.
“Brighton’s line-up surprised us because we had no idea what they were going to do. He did all the right things with Roberto but before we adjusted we were 2-0 down.
“Then we understood better what they were doing, reacted better and pulled back into the game. But even with a one-goal lead, we just didn’t impress in those moments. We have to do better.”