Liverpool found themselves with a 4-1 lead against Arsenal yesterday but poor defending and a lack of concentration meant the lead was reduced and the game ended 4-3 after a nervy final 30 minutes.
Jordan Henderson feels Liverpool could’ve done more against Arsenal to kill off any chance of a comeback and that his side lacked a “street-wise” mentality which would’ve aided in his side’s ability to cope with Arsenal trying to get back into the game.
“The second-half performance at times was very good especially when we went two or three goals in the lead,” Liverpool’s skipper told the club’s website.
“But … we need to manage the game better especially when they scored the second and gathered momentum. We just need to be a little bit more street-wise.”
After Coutinho, Lallana and Mané made it 4-1 to Liverpool, poor defending allowed the hosts to fight back and goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers cut the lead to 4-3.
“We came in after the first half knowing we could play better,” Henderson said. “The manager said a lot of things we needed to improve on in the second half and I felt we did that.”
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Liverpool celebrated Mané’s goal in emphatic style and Klopp admitted that he had some part in his team’s regression in the second half:
“I have a big, big part in the excitement in the last half hour,” said the German, “because it’s not allowed to celebrate the fourth goal when there is still half an hour to go.”
Henderson also added, “We opened the path for them again. We’ve got to be a little bit more disciplined at times.
“There are a lot of things to improve on and work on but a lot of good things as well.”
Liverpool face a comparatively easy trip to play Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday. The game offers a chance to grab three points before playing Spurs, defending champions Leicester City and Chelsea in succession. Playing Arsenal at the Emirates was the first fixture in a difficult start to the season.