Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp does not believe his side were guilty of complacency as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester City on Wednesday.
Harry Maguire’s goal in first-half stoppage time proved enough to secure a share of the spoils for Leicester at Anfield, as Liverpool missed out on a chance to move seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester City’s shock defeat to Newcastle United 24 hours earlier had provided Liverpool with that opportunity, but Klopp refuted the idea his side were affected by their nearest rival’s result.
‘Am I disappointed after we didn’t win a game? Of course I am,’ Klopp, whose side still opened up a five-point cushion, told a news conference.
‘But I don’t bring it together with the Man City game. It’s easy to ask all these questions, but we have to make sure that we are not influenced too much by these things.
‘The boys are normal human beings, I am a normal human being. We wanted to win a game and we didn’t, so we don’t feel brilliant.
‘But then we have to talk about what does it mean? Not too much, to be honest. We have a point more than before.
‘That’s not exactly what we wanted to have, but still everything is fine in the moment. We don’t think we run through the league and beat everybody; we were ready for hard work, and in a difficult game on a difficult pitch, we got a point.
‘Not perfect, but still good enough.’
West Ham, who were beaten 3-0 by Wolves on Tuesday, are next up for Liverpool, and Klopp has no concerns about his side’s ability to respond to their disappointment.
‘We have to accept the result, which is no problem,’ Klopp said.
‘We have a few days to prepare [for] West Ham, and we go again. That’s what we do, not counting points and hoping for gaps between us and other teams.
‘We have to win our football games. That didn’t happen and we are not happy about it.’