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Liverpool notched their third defeat on Wednesday when two egregious defensive errors lead to goals for the Gunners. It was a hard pill to swallow, especially considering that defense has been the team’s strongest attribute in the last few seasons.
One person at fault on the night was goalkeeper Alisson, who explained his disappointment in the aftermath.
“We are all frustrated because we always want to win a game. But to win a game you need to do everything, to give everything we have on the pitch,” he told the official site.
“Maybe tonight we didn’t deliver everything we have, maybe the mental aspect wasn’t at 100 per cent. At the beginning of the game we were there, in the first 20 minutes we started really well and then when we scored, the moment we scored, we dropped a little bit.”
Sadio Mané will be frustrated that his beautifully taken goal in the early stages of the game was effectively canceled out later in that same half. It’s not often that the Reds give up a lead, and even more rare that they go on to lose a game after scoring first. Whether it came down to a lack of concentration or just bad luck, Liverpool dropped three points that could have seen them make history.
“We stopped doing the runs to defend, we stopped putting them under pressure, and they got confidence from that. We started to commit silly mistakes and then we committed two individual mistakes we’re not used to committing during the season.
“Then we weren’t there to cover those mistakes; this is our approach, to be ready when you commit mistakes from playing from behind, that we like to do. That’s OK - we only have to learn from this night, make the best of it and then keep going.”
The best way to show they’ve learned their lesson is to make a statement on Wednesday when Chelsea visits Anfield. The Reds will also get to lift the trophy after the match, which makes it even more important for them to put in a strong performance.
There is still a thrill, however, in knowing that they could lose 10-0 on Wednesday and the title is still theirs. I wouldn’t prefer that, obviously, but the Reds are definitely enjoying the effect of playing a nearly perfect season of football up until the league was suspended.