Wijnaldum: We didn't adapt well, we have to be ready
There was an honest assessment from Georginio Wijnaldum on Monday night as the midfielder admitted Liverpool did not adapt sufficiently to avoid defeat against Leicester City.
The Reds were undone in the first half at the King Power Stadium, with Jamie Vardy slotting home to open the scoring before Danny Drinkwater lashed in an unstoppable second.
Hopes of a comeback were largely extinguished when Vardy struck again on the hour mark, rendering Philippe Coutinho’s subsequent goal a mere footnote of the match.
Wijnaldum described the manner of the loss as ‘really sad’ and accepted that Liverpool should have been better prepared for the efforts of an opponent with a point to prove.
“It was really difficult,” said the Dutchman.
“We knew beforehand that it was going to be tough, especially in the first couple of minutes, but we didn’t adapt well in the game.
“They were playing really hard in the beginning; you could see it in the first couple of minutes when they made the tackle on Sadio – that was a sign that it was going to be a really difficult game.
“We didn’t adapt well in the situation, and then we went behind 1-0 with a mistake from me. Then we were not in the game.
“[In the] second half, we tried to do it differently, [but] we conceded another goal. We scored a goal, but at the end it wasn’t good enough from our side.”
LFCTV GO: Wijnaldum on defeat against Leicester
Liverpool’s first opportunity to produce a response comes on Saturday evening, when Wijnaldum and co will have to raise themselves against Arsenal at Anfield.
And the No.5 explained how lessons can be learned from what happened at Leicester.
“After every defeat it’s important to bounce back,” he said. “That’s what we have to do on Saturday.
“Of course, it’s difficult, and it’s a hard one, especially with the way we lost the game. It’s really sad. The manager [had] told us already at the beginning of the week, and again when [Claudio] Ranieri [left], that it was going to be a really difficult game.
“They want to show that they are a good team and they wanted to fight to beat us. We were not ready at the beginning of the game.”