Souness: Liverpool “handed the momentum to Red Star”

Liverpool legend Graeme Souness believes Jurgen Klopp made a mistake last night by leaving Roberto Firmino and Joe Gomez out of the starting XI.

The Reds were defeated 2-0 at the Marakana after Milan Pavkov scored a brace, meaning Liverpool face a real challenge to progress from Group C to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Firmino, Gomez and Fabinho were all dropped in favour of Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Joel Matip after a tough game against Arsenal at the weekend. Firmino and Gomez came on at half-time but failed to adequately impact the final result.

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BELGRADE, SERBIA – NOVEMBER 6: Jurgen Klopp consoles Roberto Firmino after the Champions League match between Liverpool FC and Red Star Belgrade on November 6, 2018 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Getty Images)

READ: James Milner: “We didn’t start well enough”

And Souness thinks Klopp should shoulder the blame for the tactical error.

When asked what the fatal mistake was for Liverpool, Souness replied: “I think not starting with Firmino or Joe Gomez.

“The fact they were on the bench and came on half time suggests they were fine so it wasn’t them carrying something.

“I think the message it sends to the rest of the players was, ‘You won 4-0 last time we’ll be fine again tonight.’

“I’m of the belief you start with your strongest team, get the game won and then get off the players you want to rest.

“I think that message by not picking your strongest team to start with would have an effect with some of the players who did start.

“They weren’t at it. They didn’t start right and when you don’t start right, it really is an uphill battle to get the momentum back again.

“I felt they handed the momentum to Red Star and they managed to keep it for the rest of the game.

“They’re not at the level they were at last year, Liverpool.”

Liverpool can still progress if they beat Paris Saint-Germain away in their next match. A draw means they will have to beat Napoli in their final group game in December, and a defeat means they will need to beat the Serie A side by at least two goals at Anfield.

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Source: anfieldhq.com