‘Definitely our problem’ – Jurgen Klopp reveals big Liverpool issue against Chelsea

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool have “a lot of things to improve” after identifying the issue that nearly cost his club against Chelsea.

Axel Disasi equalized Luis Diaz’s opener as the Reds were held to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in their Premier League opener on Sunday afternoon.

Liverpool were on the back foot for extended stretches but could have won late on when replacement Darwin Nunez’s drive was deflected narrowly wide.

“It’s the first game, not the last,” Klopp added. There is no doubt that we have a lot to work on. We got the point in the end, and that’s fine.

“I saw a lot of interesting things.” Some things bothered me, but it’s the first game in a difficult situation. To be honest, I make every effort to see things positively.

“I don’t mind the point. I saw the game and believe we could have won. But, having watched the game, I know we could have lost as well. That’s the way it is. I believe we had the game’s final opportunity, correct? That would have been a fantastic time to wrap things up.

“First matchdays have always been difficult for me in my career.” And an away game at Chelsea on the first matchday isn’t exactly a high point. We have a point, and we will continue to work.”

Liverpool’s lack of a defensive midfielder impeded their efforts to recruit either Moises Caicedo from Brighton or Romeo Lavia from Southampton, with Chelsea also interested in both players.

Mohamed Salah had a goal disallowed in the first half that would have made him the first person to score on seven consecutive opening Premier League weekends, while Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell had an effort rejected for marginal offside.

In his post-match analysis, Klopp emphasized the defensive flaw that allowed the Londoners to take control in the second half.

“We had a really good start into the game, I liked it a lot,” stated the Reds’ manager. “Everything we were working on was there. Scored two fantastic goals, one of which was disallowed for offside. It was quite close. In any case, the build-up to that goal was flawless.

“However, we then opened the door for Chelsea.” We dropped the ball in a couple of circumstances that were unnecessary. The goal came from a set-piece. We won the ball but didn’t clear it well enough for the other goal. It was also offside, but Chelsea was now in the game. It was a free game back then.”

“With the crowd and all these things, we had to dig really deep and fight hard in the second half,” Klopp remarked. There are many holes to fill and spaces to fill.

“That was our problem in the game; we tried to fill the gaps by dropping instead of stepping in, as we did at the start.” Then they were able to locate (Raheem) Sterling between the lines, and (Reece) James was immediately in the game, with Chilwell performing better. We should have paid more attention.

“However, the best way to avoid these kinds of things is to improve your game control.” We generated one-v-one situations on the wing that were extremely difficult for Chelsea when we passed at the right time and retained the ball at the right time.”