Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp blamed his team’s inability to adopt the right mindset when 3-0 up for their failure to maintain a convincing lead against RB Salzburg.
Sadio Mane, Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah scored inside the first 36 minutes to give the Reds a strong lead, but Hwang Hee-Chan scored one back just before the break.
Takumi Minamino and Erling Braut Haaland netted after half-time to bring Salzburg level and while Salah scored again to give Liverpool all three points, Klopp was unhappy that his players had failed to maintain their level of performance.
“It’s better you learn the lesson in the game and sort it in the game than you have to talk about it afterwards,” Klopp said.
“We obviously started that game incredibly well. We were outstanding in the first 30 minutes but then Salzburg changed the system which didn’t really cause us any problems in possession.
“The only problem was our mood. There was a mix of a couple of players who wanted to control the game and couple who were still really lively but nobody was in that defending mood any more, on second balls we were not that good.
“Then when we lost the ball, because of the system change, they constantly had one free player in between the lines. The momentum changed and it was really difficult to get a foot in the game.
“We had to wait until they had scored the third goal, then we were able to strike back.”
“I’m not angry – I saw us play really well and try hard to get back into the game and score a really nice goal. You don’t need to score six or seven goals,” Klopp added.
“[Salzburg] are a good side but the first 30 minutes we made it really difficult for them and played outstanding. I told the boys they want to enjoy the whole night and they will fight back. This group is really difficult but we wanted the three points and now it’s game on.”
