Wijnaldum remaining positive and 'keeping perspective'
'We have to keep perspective' – that was the message from Georginio Wijnaldum after Liverpool were held to a goalless draw at Southampton on Saturday.
Jürgen Klopp’s side were in control of the Premier League clash for the majority at St Mary’s as they sought to consolidate their position at the top of the table.
The frequency of promising chances grew as the game wore on, but the visitors were unusually wasteful when they broke through the Saints ranks.
Klopp refused to be downbeat in his own assessment of the match and Wijnaldum echoed the sentiments of the boss in reflecting on a display that deserved more.
“The manager was positive,” said the midfielder. “He said ‘You must not be negative about the game, we did a lot of good things, we created a lot of chances and stopped them creating chances’.
“In the second half we played in their half. He said the only thing is we didn’t score, but sometimes in these games you can concede a goal and lose the game so the result was not that bad.
“The manager is a positive guy, a positive manager and he was satisfied with the game we played. We have to keep it in perspective.”
Wijnaldum came into the starting XI on the south coast – with Adam Lallana unavailable due to injury – and was heavily involved in the search for a winner.
He added: “Sometimes you have games like that when you play well but don’t score. This was that game. Of course we are disappointed. When you play a game like this and create a lot of chances you expect to score a goal.
“It was one of those days. You can have days like this but I don’t want to see it as a negative. We did a lot of things well, a few things wrong, but if you look at the game we did more good than bad.”