Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Bruno Lage has revealed what he told former Liverpool defender Ki-Jana Hoever after their defeat to Jurgen Klopp's side last weekend.
The Reds edged a 1-0 victory at Molineux as Divock Origi scored in stoppage time to earn his side a crucial three points.
Hoever was a late substitute for the home side and the 19-year-old was dispossessed in the build-up to what was a dramatic winner.
The youngster took to social media after the game to apologise to Wolves fans for the error that led to Liverpool's goal.
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He shared in a post on Instagram: “Sorry for letting down my teammates and the fans this weekend. Every mistake has its lesson and I learned from this one. We keep going.”
However, Lage has since excused Hoever from any blame and insisted the goal was a result of limited squad depth.
Speaking ahead of Wolves' trip to Manchester City this weekend, he told Birmingham Live : “I was disappointed after that and more disappointed because of things I said to you. It was very hard for me to make that decision to put Ki in.
“It wasn’t Ki’s mistake and I said to him, ‘You don’t need to apologise on social media, Instagram and so on. And also you don’t need to apologise here between us.’
“When we win, we win together, and when we lose, we lose together.
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“It was my decision to put Ki there. For wingers you don’t feel too much difference to play on the right or left, but for the full-backs it’s harder.
“My frustration comes from that. We didn’t have the people I wanted on the bench to manage the game better. It happened at Leeds when Rayan asked to come out.”
Hoever joined Liverpool from the Ajax academy in 2018 and made four first team appearances for the Reds in all competitions.
He joined Wolves on a permanent transfer in September last year after just two years on Merseyside and has now made 22 appearances for the Midlands club.
The youngster was on the bench for both of Wolves' matches against Liverpool last season and last weekend's meeting was his first appearance against his former club.
