Jurgen Klopp says he shouted at his Liverpool stars to wake them up after watching his side fall behind against Fulham.
The Reds were well off the pace in Sunday's clash at Craven Cottage and could have been three down at half-time were it not for goalkeeper Alisson.
Ivan Cavaleiro had twice been denied by the Brazilian before Bobby Decordova-Reid eventually fired Fulham in front.
Klopp was beside himself on the touchline as his players struggled to get going against the relegation strugglers, forcing the Liverpool boss to react.
"First 30 minutes was not good and we needed to wake up but it was better after that," Klopp told Sky Sports after the 1-1 draw.
“I cannot write a book, throw it on the pitch and tell them to read it. So what I wanted was to just shake themselves and start again. A good start of the game is nice, but if you don’t start well then you can start again, start again and start again.
"We needed half an hour, pretty much, to get our feet in the game. So that’s why I shouted a bit at them. After that it was a little bit better, second half it was good."
Another injury to Joel Matip forced Liverpool into a change at the break, with Takumi Minamino coming on to replace him as Jordan Henderson dropped into the back four.
Liverpool emerged from the tunnel with renewed purpose, but it begun to look like they would not find an equaliser.
Jordan Henderson was thwarted by Alphonso Areola, who got down low to turn his shot round the post, before the Cottagers' keeper kept out Curtis Jones's effort.
But eventually Liverpool were handed a lifeline, as Aboubakar Kamara was penalised for handball, allowing Mohamed Salah the chance to level from the penalty spot.
Klopp refused to hold the result against his players, though, in the end settling for a point despite Liverpool missing the opportunity to regain top spot.
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"They are human beings, these things can happen, they shouldn't but they do and you could see from the results yesterday as well that all teams who played in the Champions League or Europa League had a tough time," Klopp added.
"We have to fight against that and the boys did and we could have won it, Jordan [Henderson] had a big chance and Curtis Jones, what a sensational run and shot but a good save.
"It's a point, we take it and that's it."
