Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admitted that his team “deserved to lose” their Europa League encounter against Toulouse on Thursday night, despite being “100 percent” certain that Jarell Quansah’s disallowed late equalizer should have been allowed.
The Reds faced challenges in maintaining intensity against the 14th-placed team in France this season. Although Joe Gomez hit the crossbar early on, Toulouse took control for most of the game after the initial 25 minutes, securing a 2-0 lead on either side of halftime due to lapses in Liverpool’s defense.
Liverpool managed to pull one back against the run of play, but Toulouse quickly reestablished a two-goal lead when substitute Frank Magri made it 3-1. Diogo Jota narrowed the deficit late in the game, and Quansah appeared to have equalized deep into stoppage time. However, the goal was ruled out for an alleged earlier handball by Alexis Mac Allister.
In Klopp’s post-match comments, he expressed his certainty that the disallowed goal should have counted but emphasized his greater concern with Liverpool’s overall lackluster performance. Klopp stated, “We scored a third one…I think it’s a goal, 100 percent.” However, he later conceded, “It was well deserved to lose because [Toulouse] won pretty much all the decisive challenges [and] battles.”
Acknowledging that the defensive performance fell short, with three goals conceded, Klopp accepted that Quansah’s disallowed effort would have only salvaged a point, flattering the overall display.
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