Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard described his side’s defeat to FC Basel in the Champions League as “very disappointing”, saying The Reds were too soft and second best.
Gerrard, looking visibly disappointed and irked, said that he expected to win the game against a Basel side he described as “okay”.
“We were second best at times tonight,” he told Sky Sports post-defeat. “Against an okay team. We made it easy for them. I expected us to win. It’s very disappointing.
“They wanted it more,” he added.
“We created a good few openings but we didn’t deserve anything out of this game. We were too soft all over the pitch.”
Meanwhile, manager Brendan Rodgers wasn’t happy with yet another goal conceded from a set piece.
“We defended very, very poorly on the corner and it’s not the first time,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s very, very disappointing we couldn’t get something from the game and the game was decided by a poor defensive corner.
“It’s something we continue to talk about and look at and analyse but you have to deal with it on the field and the key to defending is your first contact with the ball and we continually don’t do that enough.”
The boss admitted that his side were “never technically very good tonight.”
Asked about Mario Balotelli’s performance, Rodgers said “[He] worked hard, needs to do more. Mario will be judged on what he creates and what he scores. He didn’t score [tonight].”
Liverpool looked toothless in attack, with youngster Raheem Sterling suffering an off night and Balotelli struggling to show any clinical edge.
Former Reds defender Jamie Carragher summed up Liverpool’s problems on Sky Sports post-match, saying “Goals got them out of jail [last season], now they’ve got problems at both ends.”
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