Jurgen Klopp admits ‘lack of concentration’ cost Liverpool despite dominant performance at Arsenal

The Reds were dominant but defensive errors cost the game

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp acknowledged that sloppy mistakes at the back cost his team three points against Arsenal on Wednesday night.

The Reds took the lead through Sadio Mane, but Virgil van Dijk and then Alisson Becker both gifted chances before the break which the home side scored from to secure a 2-1 win.

A second-half onslaught didn’t yield further rewards for the new Premier League champions, but Klopp opted against deriding his team’s mistakes, instead pointing out the dominance they enjoyed.

“Twice, [a] massive lack of concentration [cost us], we took a break after we scored the 1-0,” the manager told Sky Sports at full-time. “We were just brilliant, we had 24 shots to three, that’s incredible. but these two moments killed the game for us.

“Arsenal had no real chances, just a shot in the last seconds. So we did a lot of things well but you cannot win games when you concede goals like this.”

When pressed as to the reasons why Liverpool made the mistakes when they have been so tight defensively all season, Klopp suggested it was more to a momentary group mentality rather than players switching off entirely now the title was secured.

“We usually don’t do that, we did it today. Virg lost the ball but I didn’t see a lot of offers around [to receive a pass], nobody wanted the ball really. As a full pack we took a break and that makes no sense. We have to learn from that 100 per cent and we will.

“We were constantly dominant, we played around, played the ball. I know how it sounds but it was a good game, what more can you do?”

Liverpool will now have a one-week break before their next game, at home to Chelsea, after which they will receive the Premier League trophy on the Kop.