Jurgen Klopp was disappointed with his side’s final pass as a single goal from Mohamed Salah helped Liverpool to a slim 1-0 win at Huddersfield Town.
Klopp met his close friend David Wagner in the technical area at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday night, and their sides nearly cancelled each other out.
Salah opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first half, but the Terriers continued to push for an equaliser until the final whistle.
Speaking after the game a relieved, and slightly embarrassed, Klopp joined Wagner for an interview in which he criticised the Reds’ passing and praised Huddersfield’s grit.
“How can I explain the performance? For me, it looked like we could have scored in five, six, seven situations, with one better pass, especially after the 80th minute,” he told BT Sport.
“The last pass was so often today not good. I have to watch it again.
“Apart from that it was good, it was OK.
“A few players had problems. Milly came back then he felt something, we had to change, Hendo the same, Adam [played his] first game in a long time.
“Daniel is not yet used to 90 minutes, Gini immediately got a knock in the Achilles, Shaqiri didn’t play much for us and then for Switzerland twice in 90 minutes.
“But mostly it was because Huddersfield did well. We had to fight and we did that well.
“When [me and Wagner] shook hands after the game I said ‘sorry’, because it felt like that.”
The victory ensured Liverpool keep up with Man City at the top of the table, and remarkably seals their best-ever defensive record in the league after nine games.
But they were still far from their best, and though as Klopp attested injury problems pervade his squad, they played into Huddersfield’s hands throughout.
“I expect us to do better, result-wise not, but performance-wise yes. We will do it, I’m pretty sure,” he added.
“I knew it would be a challenge. After the international break it’s always difficult.
“I’m not angry but I think we should expect us to do better.
“Most of the things that didn’t work today were because Huddersfield did well, but we helped them with an average or rubbish pass.
“The result could have been different because they hit the post, and maybe should have had a penalty.
“We expect really good football from ourselves.”
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