Jurgen Klopp has dismissed Harrison Reed's claim that desire was the difference between Liverpool and Fulham as the Cottagers won 1-0 at Anfield.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the Cottagers gave their survival chances a huge boost on Sunday afternoon, midfielder Reed summed up his side's performance by declaring: "We wanted it more."
The visitors were certainly good value for their three points, which came as a result of a performance that saw them create the best openings and rarely troubled at the back.
But Klopp disagreed with the suggestions that his players, whose hopes of European football next term are fading fast, did not want to win just as desperately.
He said: "Believe me, these boys want [it] but it doesn't work in the moment and there are some reasons for it: we don't score goals and we concede at least one, which in the moment looks like it is enough against us.
"You can discuss whatever you want, obviously, I cannot just answer and say, 'Yeah, we don't have mentality.' We have mentality, it's just not the mentality we are used to probably, but the boys want to win games.
"They wanted to win this game today. I saw that. We made mistakes still, that's the problem, but that's not about you don't want it - the boys don't want to make mistakes, we just made them.
"We have to make sure the mistakes we make are not accountable anymore, so like you can concede a goal – we conceded goals in our best phases, the best periods of our lives, but the only thing is then you are not bothered about it.
"That's where we have to come. We have really tight results in the moment, pretty much always against us, and we have to make sure we win football games again.
"If it's a 1-0, it's fine, fight for it with all you have and then you can gain confidence and momentum maybe again. In the moment we don't have that."
Klopp did, though, acknowledge that his team's performance was not worthy of taking even a share of the points.
He added: "It was not good enough. Conceded a goal, didn't score, lost the game. It was not good enough.
"I had a few interviews and tried to explain it. We had to make some changes and wanted to make some more, and it is then clear that it takes a little bit of time to adapt - especially when you know that Fulham is in a really good moment and is anyway a good football-playing side. So that was clear.
"We started OK with our direction, especially when we sent Mo in behind. We had moments, didn't use them, they had their moments when they played behind our last line, of course, but we didn't concede a goal [then].
"We conceded a goal in the moment when obviously we didn't expect it and it was only a few minutes before half-time. But we got then more and more used to each other and played some good stuff, created chances, had chances, didn't score.
"Then the longer the game goes, obviously in our situation it's not that you get stronger and stronger and stronger. It gets a little bit lesser again and that's why we lost."
Against Fulham, Liverpool named their 20th central defensive partnership of a season that has been defined by injuries not only limited to that position.
Asked if his team's fortunes will remain the same until the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are back, Klopp replied: "For winning one football game, no. For being the successful team again, for being the team we can be in the best possible way, of course we have to be complete.
"More complete than we are in the moment, that's all clear, but that's not what we are thinking about in the moment.
"We really think from game to game and when you are winning then people think, 'Why do you say that all the time?' but that's the only way.
"You have to think and to concentrate and focus on the next game and to go again. The next game is in a different competition where we didn't too bad so far, but it will be a tough one, obviously, so we have to make sure we are ready for that.
"If we can go through, which is not guaranteed, then that could give confidence. Then we have Wolves, which is a tough one and then we have a couple of weeks off because of the Chelsea game and the international break and all these kind of things.
"We have to use that time, we have to hope all the boys who go to their national teams come back healthy, like always. Then I think there are another nine or 10 games to go, sounds like 27 or 30 points, so a lot to go for and we will try."
Xisco Munoz vows to fight ‘until my last second’ at Sheffield Wednesday
Xisco Munoz apologised to Sheffield Wednesday’s supporters and said he would give it “until my last second” after a 1-0 defeat at West Brom left the Sky Bet Championship’s bottom team with the worst start in their history.
John Swift’s 13th-minute goal left the Owls with an eighth loss from the first 10 games of the Sky Bet Championship season, and they are already seven points adrift of the safety line.
Manager Munoz, 43, who led Watford to the Premier League in 2020-21, has taken just two points all season and none have come outside Yorkshire. Wednesday are also without a goal in 312 minutes of football.
“I understand the fans and I can only say sorry because it’s tough for everybody,” said the Spaniard.
“But as a manager, I can say we will continue until my last second.
“This is my life and I try to give my best to my players until my last minute.”
Munoz suggested he is running out of options after trying different permutations.
“We tried to change the formation and the players – I have used 24 or 25 players this season,” he added.
“We can play 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 5-3-2 but right now, we’re not finding the solutions.”
Munoz insisted he will keep persevering trying to find a winning formula.
“We need to continue trying to find what is better for us, we need to find which players we can use for the next game, what can hurt the opponent and how we can make better of these situations,” added the Spaniard.
“We played against a difficult style and a good team but the difference was nothing.”
West Brom made it five games unbeaten, during which they have kept four clean sheets and climbed to fifth.
Swift lashed home the only goal from six yards after Darnell Furlong played the ball down the right, Akin Famewo missed the chance to cut it out and Jed Wallace crossed low.
But just after the goal, Wednesday’s Juan Delgado missed Ashley Fletcher’s cross from point-blank range, then Tyreeq Bakinson’s curling shot was clawed away by goalkeeper Alex Palmer.
West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan saluted match-winner Swift, who scored his fifth goal of the season.
“When a player of his quality is mentally ready to compete he can be the difference,” he said.
Corberan admitted Albion found it hard going to find more goals.
“You change the feeling and change the game when you score from the opportunities you have,” he said.
“It was difficult to combat them from the set-pieces because they had a very physical team and when we won the second balls in the set-pieces, we couldn’t score the second goal to change the game.
“After one second ball and one set-piece, it led to two big opportunities that led Alex (Palmer) to achieve the clean sheet and the three points.”
Erik ten Hag vows to fight on ‘together’ with Manchester United
Under-pressure Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is not worried about losing his job after his side’s horror start to the season continued with a Champions League home defeat to Galatasaray.
The Red Devils threw away a 2-1 lead to fall to a 3-2 loss at a rain-soaked Old Trafford and suffer their worst start to a season since 1986.
They have lost six of their opening 10 games for the first time in 37 years and their chances of getting out of the group stages already look in doubt after just two matches.
But Ten Hag, who says there are “no excuses” for his side’s dismal performances, insist everyone at the club is pulling in the same direction.
Asked whether he feared for his job, the Dutchman said: “Last season: brilliant, terrific, more than we could expect.
“We also knew in this project there would be common gaps. At this moment we are in a very difficult period as everyone can see but we come out together, we are fighting together, we are sticking together and we are behind each other. That is me, the directors, the team, all together we will fight.
“This is not us, we know we have to do better, with togetherness we will come out.
“If I give an explanation, then you will see as excuses, there are no excuses. We can’t make the errors we are now making. We have to do better, it is a simple fact, we have to win our games.”
United had victory in their own hands after two Rasmus Hojlund goals, either side of former United winger Wilfried Zaha’s leveller, put them on course for a much-needed win.
But Kerem Akturkoglu again pegged them back and then a woeful error by Andre Onana set them on a path to self-destruction as his abysmal pass led to Casemiro fouling Dries Mertens in the penalty area and the Brazilian was sent off.
Mauro Icardi missed the resulting penalty, but made amends three minutes later as he grabbed the winner and sealed a first ever victory on English soil for the Turkish side.
Onana also made a costly gaffe in the Group A opener at Bayern Munich a fortnight ago but Ten Hag, who managed him at Ajax, has backed the Cameroonian to come good.
“We are happy with our goalkeeping group, definitely with Andre,” Ten Hag said. “He was in one semi-final of the Champions League, last year he was in the final of the Champions League, he has the capablilties to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
“He has shown that and he will do. We already have seen in games his great capabilites, also his personality after he made mistakes. He will bounce back and I am sure he will in the coming games as well.”
Galatasaray were good value for their victory and are now a good bet to progress to the knockout stages, having taken four points from their opening two games.
“In the second half I believe we played better, we had more chances,” coach Okan Buruk said. “At the end of the day we are happy, we won against this team, a very important team.
“This victory is very important for Turkish football, for us and for our standing in the group.”
John Mousinho says Portsmouth ‘thoroughly deserved’ late win over Wycombe
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho was thrilled after Conor Shaughnessy’s late heroics handed his table-toppers a 2-1 victory over Wycombe.
Centre-back Shaughnessy bagged his first Pompey goal in the 98th minute when he connected with Jack Sparkes’ corner to send Fratton Park wild.
Pompey had gone behind to Wycombe captain Josh Scowen’s near post-flick from Luke Leahy’s in-swinging corner in the 22nd minute but responded after 58 minutes when Abu Kamara’s low cross was stabbed in by Colby Bishop, who netted his sixth goal of the season.
Mousinho said: “It feels amazing to be honest. To have the reaction to scoring the goal in front of the Fratton End; the whole stadium went up.
“I thought we thoroughly deserved the win. We obviously left it very late, and I only allowed myself a few seconds to celebrate because I knew I had to get Sean Raggett on straight away”
“I thought our chance had gone when Colby missed a chance at the far post.
“My emotions wouldn’t have been quite as happy if we hadn’t scored that late goal but I would have been as happy with the performance and how we went about things. Overall I’m pleased with tonight.
“We stood up to the physical test really well. Wycombe are really good at what they do. They have a Premier League centre forward and have plenty of Championship calibre behind it.
“We went a goal behind and it is difficult from there. Wycombe sat in and made it difficult. We stuck at it under difficult circumstances and were absolutely superb.”
Pompey recorded their 22nd game unbeaten in Sky Bet League One to stay top.
Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield complained Shaughessy’s winner had come after a foul on his goalkeeper Max Stryjek.
He said: “I am very angry and frustrated, and also sorry for the supporters who made the journey on a Tuesday night.
“It was a blatant foul on the goalkeeper for their second. Their player jumps into him and prevents him from catching the ball and flattens him.
“I was very proud of the lads tonight and thought we carried a threat even in the second half. We deserved something from the game.
“Decisions against us are becoming a regular occurrence.
“It is so disappointing that the lads work extremely hard and decisions like that cost us getting something out of the game. That’s the second game in a row we have been hard done by.
“We were really looking forward to this game, so disappointed to come away with nothing.
“We obviously have to pick ourselves up from this. We go to Fleetwood on Saturday, and we need to start getting points.”
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