Jürgen Klopp admitted Liverpool were suffering from a crisis of confidence after dropping points for the fifth time in seven Premier League games with a 3-3 draw at home to Brighton.
Brighton, under new manager Roberto De Zerbi, led 2-0 after 18 minutes at Anfield and could have been four ahead at the time as Liverpool produced another chaotic defensive display.
The home side produced a thrilling comeback to go 3-2 up only for another error, this time from Virgil van Dijk, to allow Leandro Trossard to complete his hat-trick. It was the first by an away player at Anfield in 13 years.
“The confidence level is not extraordinarily high now,” said the Liverpool manager. “In difficult times like this you have to fight so hard that step by step you regain momentum and confidence.
“We had moments of confidence, Bobby for the second goal, but the passing game was not good. We passed balls all over the place, which we can only explain by saying that we weren’t sure at the time because of how the game started.
“We are under pressure, we do not ignore this, we do not increase it every day, but it is there. We want to do much better, have more points, improve in the table and then we are losing 2-0 against a very good opponent. They always cause us problems here. They play very well between the lines. We have to keep working.”
The Liverpool manager said he could sense apprehension at Anfield and shared fans’ concerns about his side’s unconvincing defending.
“You remember the games here years ago when we were only one goal ahead and it happened quite often that almost everyone had a heart attack because we weren’t convinced at the time,” Klopp said.
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“He reminded me a little bit of that today. I can’t say I was 100% convinced we wouldn’t concede a goal when we were 3-2. Three-three feels like a loss even if it’s not.
“The boys can play much better. My job is to create a situation where they can deliver. That’s why you need stability and consistency. You get that with the best defense, and we didn’t have that. They were really dangerous. I don’t know how many times I saw their offensive players spinning between the lines, it was horrible, really horrible to watch.”
De Zerbi revealed he sent a message to the Belgium international last week. “I told him he had to increase the number of goals,” said the new Brighton manager. “He played a great game, but I think he can do even better. When I say he can do even better, it’s not because I’m not happy with his game, but because I think he’s a great player.”