Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that his side were low on confidence as the Reds suffered to a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
The Northern Irishman had rested goal-shy striker Mario Balotelli and started Rickie Lambert ahead of the Italian international. The former Southampton striker opened the scoring for the Merseyside club in the second minute as he bagged his first goal for the Reds.
Dwight Gayle equalised for the Eagles in the first quarter of the game. However, it was goals from Joe Ledley and Mile Jedinak in the second half helped Palace find their first win after going without a win in the last five matches.
The defeat leaves Liverpool sit 12th in the league table with 14 points from 12 games. The former Swansea manager stressed the result was “bitterly disappointing.”
“It was bitterly disappointing. It was nowhere near the level that we would expect. We started the game as you would want, but I think you saw a team low on confidence today,” Rodgers said in his post-match press conference.
“We’re not quite together as a team, which is what we pride our work on. We need to find a solution very quickly because it was very disappointing. It’s my responsibility as the manager, ultimately.
“I picked the team and put the team out there, and I pick the best team I think can win us the game. We made a good start, but as you can see our passing was a bit tentative and then we made mistakes.
“We made mistakes that you would not expect to see at this level for a team that wants to be challenging. We go 1-0 up and then we fail to manage the game. Overall, there’s that intensity and togetherness that’s not quite there in our game. When you don’t get the results, that is affected,” Liverpool manager stressed.
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