Liverpool boss Arne Slot has admitted his side were “out-smarted” on multiple occasions as they fell to a second successive defeat, losing 1-0 to Galatasaray on a hostile Champions League night in Istanbul.
The Premier League champions, beaten at Crystal Palace at the weekend, struggled to find their rhythm at RAMS Park and saw goalkeeper Alisson forced off injured in the second half.
Victor Osimhen struck the decisive goal after 16 minutes, converting a controversial penalty awarded by French referee Clement Turpin when Dominik Szoboszlai tangled with Baris Alper Yilmaz.
The decision came seconds after Cody Gakpo had seen an effort cleared off the line by Davinson Sanchez.
After the game Slot admitted: “Again, disappointed. For me, this was a different performance on and off the ball than Crystal Palace. First half we played quite well and had a big chance to go 1-0 up.
Arne Slot believes Liverpool were out-smarted by Galatasaray
|REUTERS
“We are sometimes a bit out-smarted in situations like this and I cannot blame Dominik Szoboszlai for the situation. They make a 20 per cent penalty a 100 per cent penalty, which is very smart from them.”
Slot stressed that Liverpool’s level has not fallen far from last season, but warned that small margins were going against them in recent weeks.
He said: “We are not so far off the level shown last season. This is sometimes what the schedule can bring, Galatasaray is not a simple game. We now play Chelsea away, a difficult game.
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“The margins are small and they were last season. For the second time in a row we are on the wrong side.
"I saw a lot of things in the first half, but the second half was much less. I don’t think in the second half there was a lot of playing time – their striker was on the floor four or five times. It was difficult to get momentum in the game.”
Slot had turned to Mohamed Salah and Alexander Isak in the second half in a bid to change the match, while Liverpool briefly thought they had earned a lifeline when Turpin awarded a penalty after Ibrahima Konaté went down in the box. A VAR review overturned the decision, cosigning the visitors to defeat.
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Victor Osimhen scored the decisive goal in the Champions League tie
|REUTERS
Captain Virgil van Dijk admitted his side had been too careless in possession, though insisted there was no need for panic.
“They got the penalty and opportunities through our mistakes. A bit sloppy,” he said.
“We took the risk in possession and tried to find the spare man in midfield. That comes with risk. In those moments we made the wrong decisions, they break on us and become dangerous.
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"Losing is bad, these two games don't feel nice. I have been in the game a long time, it's about working and keeping your head down."
The Dutchman insisted that Liverpool will be back to there best, he continued: "I think we have showed it already in many games this season but we haven't shown it for the full 90 minutes yet unfortunately.
"It is absolutely normal and nowadays you don't get the time from the outside world so you have to be strong mentally.
Virgil van Dijk is adamant that the team does not need to panic after back-to-back losses
|REUTERS
"I am very confident, we have to keep working and sticking together. We had a good start this year in terms of points tally.
"There shouldn't be panic, but improvement is needed."
Liverpool now face Chelsea away in the Premier League, with Slot searching for an immediate response to try and stall thier run of bad form.