Jurgen Klopp provided an interesting point as he hinted that playing against 11 men would have possibly been better than the 10 that faced him, following Granit Xhaka’s red card.
The boss spoke with Sky Sports (via BBC) after the game and shared his thoughts on the 0-0, as he looked ahead to the second-leg.
There was a degree of negativity with the draw but the game is far from over and the German was keen to remind everyone of that fact.
The 54-year-old said: ‘I thought we really started well, I liked it, it was how I wanted to start.
‘We would’ve preferred to have scored the goal instead of them getting a red card. From that moment it looks like we are under pressure [to score].
‘In the second half we made a few changes, I thought it looked better and we had clear situations but it was not good enough.
‘But it’s a two-legged game and it’s half time. I can’t remember when it was 0-0 at half time, wherever I’ve been, and I thought ‘we have no chance’. We will give it a proper go.’
Playing against 10 players can often be harder, especially when they are more than happy to take a stalemate ahead of a second leg and the game against Mikel Arteta’s side proves that.
Neither manager will want extra time in the next meeting and so will have to try and win, the perfect opportunity for us to give it a ‘proper go’ at the Emirates.
#Ep29 of The Red Nets Podcast: COVID strikes again, who should Liverpool sign in January… and more!