Jürgen Klopp Takes Moral Victory In Liverpool Effort, Still Disappointed In Loss

Jürgen Klopp insisted there were many positives to take from Liverpool’s performance at West Ham United but admitted the 2-1 defeat in the FA Cup ensured his side head home full of disappointment.

The Reds recovered from Michail Antonio’s goal just before halftime to level the fourth-round replay through Philippe Coutinho’s excellent free kick three minutes after the restart at the Boleyn Ground.

They forged a number of chances to take the lead during the remainder of the 90 minutes and into extra time — instead, the Hammers secured the result when Angelo Ogbonna headed the winner just as a penalty shootout loomed.

In his post-match assessment, Klopp praised the individual efforts of the entire team — which again saw young players entrusted with the manager’s faith — but acknowledged the result was all-important.

He said: “I thought they could play like this so I’m not surprised. But the only reason we were here tonight was to win. “We did a lot of things really well. But the first real chance was a goal for West Ham. Our goal was great, a high-quality goal of Phil Coutinho.

“We changed really offensively and still did well and created chances. It was a big fight. We couldn’t use our chances, they got a free-kick without a foul and we conceded a goal. Now we go home.

“We don’t have to talk about morale, we showed morale and everything is OK with these boys. If you go through the squad tonight, it’s a great game.”