Klopp: "It was a difficult day for us." You Think?

Yup, let’s bring back down to earth guys. An organized Burnley team capitalized on Liverpool’s inability in recent years to break down defensive teams as visitors, as the Lancashire club deservedly won 2-0 at the Turf Moor.

Despite the statistics insisting that Jürgen Klopp’s side "dominated" the game with 81% possession—the highest such figure for a losing side in the PL since 2003-04—as well as 26 shots in comparison to 3 from the home side, there was a decided toothlessness in the Liverpool attack as for example the overwhelming majority of those shots were from long range and off-target.

As for the 81% possession, Burnley manager Sean Dyche pointed out the futility of aimless ball retention noting that:

"It's a myth that dominating possession wins you games. Leicester City proved that last season."

All well and good, at least as Klopp figures out how to fine tune the tactics, underlining the importance of having direct player like the injured Sadio Mané to run at sitting defenses and ask questions. However, even on a day where the attack was flattering to deceive, what was most frustrating was the inability of the Red’s midfield and defense to remain composed against the Burnley press or properly defend against rapid counterattacks to at least salvage a point at 0-0.

Klopp highlighted this as the root of the problem in the post-match press conference, remarking ruefully:

"It was a difficult game for us. We lost the ball in the wrong moments."

Following two first half goals from the newly-promoted side—the first inside of two minutes stemming from a defensive error by Nathaniel Clyne, with the second coming on a devastating counterattack in the 38th minute—Klopp noted that his team grew frustrated:

"We lost a little bit [of] timing and patience. The offense today was very not good...Usually in a game like this, we win. But we made mistakes in the wrong moment and now we have to accept the result and carry on."

The tone of the German’s remarks had the hint of "not too high after a win, not too low after a loss," which is of course the correct philosophy.

After all, it’s still the second game of the season and of course there will be some hiccups, but with 5 goals shipped now from two games, there are surely causes for some manner of concern.