There was no hiding the disappointment after relinquishing a two-goal lead at Shrewsbury for Adrian, and now it’s time to reflect and respond.
The Reds had started their fourth round tie against the League One side on the perfect note with Curtis Jones finding the net with 15 minutes on the clock.
A Donald Love own goal merely seconds after the interval looked to have sealed the result Liverpool’s way, only for a Jason Cummings double to enforce a replay at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp made 11 changes to his lineup for the clash and it showed as a disjointed outing saw senior figures returning from injury struggle in what was a lacklustre outing.
Adrian was the clear standout on the night for the Reds, making a number of superb timely stops to ensure a draw was as bad as it got for his side.
And while the Spaniard thought the result was a “fair” reflection of the game, he conceded the side “relaxed” after doubling their lead and now it is all about reflecting and trying to improve.
“It’s really disappointing, obviously, because we could have done much better than we performed tonight,” he told LFCTV.
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“The result at the end was fair, it was not a penalty as it was outside the box. But they also had many chances, one-v-ones – we could have defended much better than we did.
“Now we have to face the second game at Anfield to try to go to the next round.
“They deserve all the respect we give them. We respect all the rivals but when we are on the pitch we are 11 vs. 11.
“They gave everything for that result and in the end they got a draw that is like a win for them because we need to play the second game at Anfield now.
“In football, you can have a player relax and I think we relaxed a bit after our second goal and after that, they pushed even harder and they decided they want to try to score.
“Then we conceded the first one and obviously the second one got us a bit down and we feel we didn’t perform as good as we are.
“We need to give a look at ourselves, be critical, try to improve and keep doing like we are doing in the Premier League.”
While losing a two-goal lead is frustrating in itself, Liverpool have now added another fixture to their already demanding schedule this season – one which will fall during a pre-scheduled winter break.
Klopp has already insisted neither he or his senior players will be present for the replay, with Neil Critchley to again lead a side of youth players.
It’s a move which is no doubt to receive widespread backlash, and while Adrian‘s involvement seems unlikely, it is simply a challenge that needs to be faced should a shot at another piece of silverware remain.
“We have to be realistic, it is like it is and we need to prepare ourselves as best as possible for the next round,” Adrian added.
“We have a difficult schedule, very tough with many games ahead in many competitions but if we want to continue in the FA Cup we need to face that challenge so we have to play our best at Anfield.”
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