Sometimes you just have to raise your hand and admit it’s not your day. For Liverpool, who have had so many positive days in recent months, it was just yesterday.
In reality, nothing went as planned for the Reds at Old Trafford. Despite taking the lead twice against Manchester United, the Reds were unable to exert the control they would have liked in this game. They created a lot of chances but wasted in front of goal.
It’s a game Jurgen Klopp will return to and he knows there will be a lot of lessons to learn from him. In the grand scheme of things, being knocked out of the FA Cup would possibly be a blow, but it can also be in the future. The finale is a testament to Liverpool’s ambitions to win the Premier League and Europa League. At the end of the day, those trophies are far more lucrative and prestigious for the Reds.
What will be frustrating for Liverpool is that they will no longer be able to rectify this defeat and bounce back, get a win right away. That game is Liverpool’s last game before the foreign break, meaning Klopp will have to wait until March 31 to play again. All Liverpool players will compete for their country.
Speaking after the game in his post-match press conference, Klopp revealed what he expects from his players and what he hoped would happen to them in the foreign break.
“So they don’t have to play two 90-minute games and things like that now, it would be helpful, but it’s not in my hands,” Klopp said, according to the club’s official website.
“Is it coming at the right time? If we played and the next game was on Thursday or Friday, that would be fine for me as well. It’s never great when they’re not there, in fact I like it when they’re here. “And we can actually give players a day off and just remedy and stuff like that. But it’s not the first time like this, it’s the last time like this [of his time at Liverpool]. Let’s hope they come back, smart and then we’re off.
It’s true, let’s be honest, this foreign break doesn’t come at the best time for Liverpool. The only thing we can hope for is that none of the club’s players get injured. We need them back on the pitch and hopefully bounce back from Manchester. Defeat United as temporarily as possible.