Jürgen Klopp said he felt “pretty alone” at the sight of Liverpool fans leaving Anfield after Crystal Palace’s 82nd-minute winner but insisted it was his team’s responsibility to keep people in attendance until the final whistle.
The new Liverpool manager suffered the first defeat of his reign as Yannick Bolasie and Scott Dann scored to give Alan Pardew’s team a third consecutive win in the Premier League fixture. Klopp looked on incredulously as dozens of supporters headed for the exits following Dann’s late goal and claimed it reflected a lack of belief in the team’s performance.
“It is not a problem to lose a game. It happens in football but we have to learn,” said Klopp. “If we learn, we decide how strong we are, how good we are, how awake we are and how tired we are. Nobody else. We played on Thursday [at Rubin Kazan in the Europa League] but I decide if I am tired, nobody else. Today we needed a few minutes to come into the game. It was not enough. If everyone thinks we gave everything, then it is wrong.
“After the goal on 82 minutes, with 12 minutes to go, I saw many people leaving the stadium. I felt pretty alone at this moment. We decide when it is over. Between 82 and 94 [minutes] you can make eight goals if you like.
“Big decisions are made in moments when you are tired. Tonight it feels so bad because it was absolutely not necessary.”
Klopp said his frustration was not with the early leavers but his team’s inability to convince supporters that a point could be salvaged against an impressive Palace team. “I am not disappointed about this,” he clarified.
“They have reasons [for leaving] and maybe it is easier to go out, I don’t know. Don’t make a big thing about this but we are responsible that nobody can leave the stadium before the final whistle because anything can happen.
“We have to show this and we didn’t. Everything is OK but we can do better.”
The pain of defeat was compounded for the Liverpool manager by a potentially serious knee injury to his in-form defender Mamadou Sakho, who left Anfield on crutches and in a knee brace. The France international fell awkwardly in an aerial challenge with Bakary Sako and will have a scan on Monday to determine the extent of the damage. Klopp said: “It looks bad but we have to wait for the scan. I would prefer to lose 4-1 and keep him in the team.”
