There was no shying away from a poor performance for Liverpool’s players after leaving it late to secure a 1-1 draw at Man United.
The Reds returned to Premier League action following the international break, looking to maintain their 100 percent winning start, but they instead left with nine games unbeaten to their name.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were lacklustre at best for much of the affair and controversy ensued when a foul on Divock Origi was overlooked by referee Martin Atkinson and VAR to see Marcus Rashford edge United into the lead.
Sadio Mane had looked to peg back the deficit before a review scrubbed it out for handball on the cusp of half-time.
A similar pattern unfolded after the interval for the Reds as questionable decision making and errant passing ensured Klopp’s side were unable to make any headway.
That was until Adam Lallana found himself on the end of a rare piece of quality into the box late on to ensure the spoils were shared, and for Jordan Henderson, it was a moment Liverpool’s No. 20 deserved.
Speaking to LFCTV, the skipper did not deflect from Liverpool’s poor outing as he was also drawn into the decision, or lack thereof, regarding the foul on Origi in the build-up to United’s goal:
“I didn’t think we performed well enough in the first half, not our usual self – especially not with the ball.
“But I thought second half was a lot better, we changed a little bit tactically which helped us and the longer the game went on we were pushing for the winner – and I thought the last five to 10 minutes we were going to get it.
“But we have to be much better for the 90 minutes. We’re disappointed we haven’t come here and put on a top performance because I felt as though we could’ve done that.
“But when you can’t win you don’t lose and that’s a sign of a good team, but we’ve got to learn from the game and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“I thought [Lallana] was brilliant when he came on, I’m delighted for him – he deserves a bit of luck – and he’s got us a point, which could be a big one so over the moon for him and hopefully he can keep contributing for the team.
“I don’t really want to comment on VAR, it was more the decision leading up to the goal from the referee, I felt as though he’d give United very, very similar fouls early in the game and he’s got to see that tackle and give the foul.”
After the final whistle, Andy Robertson, James Milner and Jordan Henderson all voiced their dissatisfaction at the performance but heaped praise on Lallana after he scored his first goal for the club since May 2017:
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The man himself simply shared his delight at notching the all-important goal:
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For Gini Wijnaldum, disappointment lingered but he continued to be upbeat as he urged his side to “keep pushing” after remaining “unbeaten in the Premier League,” a view shared by Trent Alexander-Arnold:
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And while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was similarly frustrated with the performance he also took time to praise the travelling Kop for their support:
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Although the performance was one many will hope won’t be repeated in a hurry, Liverpool remain atop of the Premier League and will have left Old Trafford with lessons to learn.
Attention will now turn to European action as a trip to Genk awaits on Wednesday before the Reds host Tottenham in the league on Sunday.
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