Jurgen Klopps first home Premier League match as Liverpool manager ended in a third successive draw, as Southamptons Sadio Mane equalised substitute Christian Bentekes goal with five minutes left at Anfield on Sunday (25 October). Afterwards, Klopp told a news conference it was mental rather than physical strength that the players needed to work on.
Its not that we stopped our game physically, but we didnt believe any more that we can turn this game, whatever the result and thats the problem. Thats why we are not coming up in the moments when we have to change it, when we have the last pass and so on. I dont understand this pressure in this moment, but the guys feel it; you can see this.
He said the players had to understand that they can always come back at an opponent. Thats the thing, because they work so hard, they are full of concentration, they are full of readiness, full of passion, everything is there and we got one goal, received one goal and it felt like the end of the world and its not the end of the world, its only a goal and you can come back always and thats what we have to understand. Thats what I saw tonight, said the German.
Southampton are one league place ahead of Liverpool in eighth position. Klopps first Anfield game was a 1-1 draw with Rubin Kazan in the Europa League on 22 October, which came after a goalless draw at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
