Jurgen Klopp was left baffled by Liverpool's failure to score as they lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Former Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi bagged the winner 10 minutes into the second half at the City Ground, inflicting the Reds' third defeat from 11 Premier League games this season – meaning they've now lost more league matches than during the whole of 2021/22.
And Klopp was at a loss to explain how his team drew a blank for only the second time in any competition this term (having also done so away to Everton last month).
Liverpool had a number of great chances to score from dead-ball situations – and while Forest goalkeeper Dean Henderson was in inspired form, the Reds were wasteful on more than one occasion. Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk both spurned opportunities where they'd be expected to find the net, and Klopp couldn't understand how they missed. The German said:
"I think [Henderson made] two incredible saves. I think the others were the better chances when we just missed the goal. I think Virgil [van Dijk] in the first half thought he was offside, which he wasn't. There is no real reason for it; it is just in that moment... These boys: how often did [Roberto] Firmino score from these moments? How often did Virgil van Dijk put these balls in the back of the net? There is no real explanation for it."
Next up for Liverpool is a Champions League trip to Ajax on Tuesday. The Reds only need a point in Amsterdam to book their place in the round of 16. Klopp and co. then return to Premier League action when they welcome Leeds to Anfield next Saturday night.
