Jurgen Klopp believes his team are now feeling the absence of too many attacking players after admitting Liverpool could take no positives from a chastening defeat at Brentford.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s second-half strike wasn’t enough as the Reds slumped 3-1 at the Gtech Community Shield on Monday evening.
Liverpool had gone into the game on the back of four successive Premier League victories but remain four points adrift of the Champions League qualification places having played a game more.
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The Reds were without forwards Roberto Firmino, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota while new signing Cody Gakpo was not registered in time to play a part.
And asked if the loss was a step backwards, Klopp said: “We lost, how could it be a step in a different direction? We can change our position only by winning games, and tonight it is the opposite.
“We cannot take positives or confidence from that, but we have to win football games.
“We have a lot of players unavailable at the moment, and you can see that.
“We cannot just throw in offensive players to give people a rest, they pretty much all have to fight through.”
Klopp was unimpressed that Liverpool’s hopes of a grandstand finish were dashed when Bryan Mbeumo’s 84th-minute strike for Brentford’s third was allowed despite a coming together that saw Ibrahima Konate – who had scored an own goal for the opener – felled.
“It should have been disallowed,” said the Reds boss. “It’s a full sprint from two players, and when you get a push in this moment you can lose balance and go down. But (referee) Stuart Attwell saw it differently and then the VAR who checked it can hide generally behind the phrase ‘clear and obvious'.
“The start of the game was really good. We had top chances, could and should have scored before Brentford had their first corner. I will say it again, and I know people don’t want to hear it, but they use everything in these moments, and that’s why it’s really difficult to defend.
"I have to watch it back but I’m pretty sure we could have won the header in the first post area, but the ball goes through and Ibou couldn’t see when it arrived.
“The game was decided by the second goal in the end, which is absolutely our fault, nothing else. We get away with an offside goal, and that’s okay, but then we are not awake when they go directly against our line again, and they cross the ball and score the second goal to decide the game.”
Klopp added: “We had big chances in the first half, free header for Ibou, Oxlade in the box when Thiago chips the ball into the chest and he can’t control it, and of course Darwin and Kostas’s chances.
“Second half, we start super, exactly like we want, Robbo down the line, Darwin scores, exceptional, but slightly offside. Then we score, and it’s all okay, but with time and rhythm breaks, going down, a lot of time running down the watch without any football action, we lost possession, we were not as clear any more.”
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