‘It’s not OK’ - Jurgen Klopp explains what he took personally in Liverpool’s draw vs Luton

Jurgen Klopp admitted that Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Luton Town was a deserved result - although his side well have won or lost the game.

The Reds needed a stoppage-time equaliser from Luis Diaz to avoid a humbling loss at Kenilworth Road. The away side created several chances in the first half, with Darwin Nunez hitting the bar and Diogo Jota having an effort well saved.

In the second period, Nunez spurned a chance from just yards out before Luton stunned Liverpool on the counter-attack through Tahith Chong. Diaz, returning to the Reds’ squad with his father still not released after being kidnapped in Colombia, heading home to earn a point.

Klopp took exception to the lack of counter-pressing from his Liverpool players in the first half - and admitted the encounter was ‘strange’. The Anfield manager said: “Strange game. Strange feeling after the game. I think we should have won, but I think the draw is the deserved result – and we could have lost, so that's how it is.

“Credit to Luton, they did really well but even with all what they did, we created chances and didn't finish them off with the last conviction, to be 100 per cent honest. We were not calm enough in these moments. We should have scored and we should have created, but first and foremost it was alright – we created probably enough, just put one or two to bed and it's fine and you win 1-0 or 2-0. Absolutely fine, nobody won here with a crazy result and I knew before why, but now I felt it: they do really well.

“But what I didn't like, particularly in the first half, was that we had 0.0 [per cent] counter-pressing and that is something I take personally, to be honest. I told the boys, it's not OK, but because I know that they actually want to do it the question is then why didn't they do it? So I have to figure that out. But I will, it's not rocket science probably but that I have to watch it back. I have enough time for that.

“I told the boys at half-time, good, good, here good, be calm, be patient, stay patient, stuff like this and then if we would now put counter-pressing into that it would be really helpful because we have much more possession phases, longer possession phases, [and] they are less organised in these moments. Then we all know, we saw these games before, the situation doesn't get clearer with time. If we score one and then little gaps open up. With a 0-0 and the idea of Luton, which is fine and no problem with that – set-pieces and counter-attacks – they stay in the game, so you have to make sure beforehand that they are not in the game anymore – but they were in the game.

“They had the counter-attack, scored the goal and I think everybody knows we should have won that ball – or shouldn't have lost the ball – at the 18-yard line. Then they scored, we scored the equaliser. I respect a lot what they do but the way they defend set-pieces defensively… if you watch it back, that's wrestling. It's not on the edge, it's on the wrong side, but they don't get punished, so why should they change it? So, fine. That was a little bit the discussion around that, that we thought it could have been – not when they scored the goal, before when Virgil's opponent brought him down. I think it was a good point score in wrestling, I am not sure. That's it.”