Jurgen Klopp has admitted that the way Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta set his side up made life difficult for Liverpool in the Community Shield.
The Gunners claimed victory over the Reds at Wembley on Saturday, winning a penalty shootout 5-4 after the two sides couldn’t be separated during the 90 minutes.
It means Liverpool are the first side ever to lose the Community Shield on penalties in back-to-back years – but Jurgen Klopp played down the significance of the defeat.
Klopp said: “We were here to win the game, I hope that much was obvious. We didn’t lose the game but we lost the competition. If we scored earlier that would’ve helped but there wasn’t enough time.
“I was pleased with parts of the game. I know what situation we’re in from a physical and technical point of view. Against a 5-4-1 and a side with a low block you need fresh legs. Now we have two weeks to prepare the new season.
“We had to get control back of the game and we had that in the second half. Arsenal didn’t really create chances and we had to work hard to win back the ball. We had our two or three big moments that we didn’t take and that’s the reason for the result.”
The difficulty facing Liverpool in strengthening a title-winning squad this summer has perhaps been underlined by Minamino’s period of integration since his January move from Red Bull Salzburg.
But the Japanese forward got off the mark for his new team in Saturday’s Community Shield shootout loss to Arsenal and Klopp was pleased with the player’s overall contribution off the bench.
“It was big for him and big for us because it’s the only thing he’s lacked with us since he arrived. He hadn’t scored but had been close in plenty of moments.
“The shape he’s in is obviously good and I think everyone could see that when he came on. The goal is the logical step after performing well in pre-season. I’m very pleased for him.”