- Liverpool lost 3-2 to Toulouse in Europa League group stage on Thursday
- Reds denied stoppage-time equaliser by controversial VAR call
- Joe Gomez believes his side weren’t good enough throughout the 90 minutes
Following their Thursday night denial of a thrilling draw against Toulouse, Joe Gomez has maintained that Liverpool never should have been in a situation where they needed to come back with a late equalizer.
The Reds’ perfect start to the Europa League campaign came to an end when they lost 3-2 to the French team, and they also missed the opportunity to guarantee their spot in the final 16 as soon as possible.
At the Stadium de Toulouse, Liverpool played poorly for the most of the match and were behind two goals before Cristian Casseres Jr.’s own goal gave them a chance to come back. A goal from Frank Magri gave the home team a 3-1 lead, but a goal from Diogo Jota just before stoppage time created a tense finale.
Eight minutes into stoppage time, Jarell Quansah felt he had tied the score, but a VAR check disregarded it because Alexis Mac Allister appeared to have handballed during the build-up.
Gomez agreed with Jurgen Klopp when he stated at the press conference following the game that he was significantly more worried about Liverpool’s performance than the choice to leave out Quansah’s equalizer.
“Clearly frustrating, we never really had the upper hand in the game. We never really had the upper hand in the game after they obviously took the lead,” Gomez told TNT Sports.
“We have to take responsibility for the atmosphere they created for us. Although it is upsetting that the choice did not work out for us, we never should have found ourselves in this predicament.
“I believe that everyone is clearly upset about it, but we need to maintain control over the game. It’s simple for us to whine and be upset with the choice, but I believe that they will examine it and determine whether or not it’s a goal. We have no control over what is, thus it is what it is.
We have to improve on it and try again because the only thing we can do is not be in this situation in the first place and not chase the game at that moment.
Gomez added: “I think they made it difficult, we didn’t quite get hold of second balls and they were quite aggressive in the challenges. We didn’t stay composed around their box and we didn’t use the ball well enough. But we created some decent chances and got two goals.
“So it’s tough, it’s playing away from home in Europe and it’s never going to be easy. But we have to learn from it and then we go again in the next group game.
“Tiredness? No, it’s still early and we’ve got great depth in the squad and the gaffer has made changes. So it’s not about making excuses. We need to pick ourselves up and get ready for the weekend.”
Liverpool’s final match before the November international break sees them return to Premier League action on Sunday when Brentford visit Anfield.
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