Liverpool 1 Rubin Kazan 1: Jurgen Klopp left frustrated by failure to win on Anfield debut
Klopp believes his Anfield debut left him unrewarded but has back his side to improve
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Your support makes all the difference.Jürgen Klopp has already urged his Liverpool side to produce more after his Anfield debut produced little reward in the 1-1 Europa League draw with Rubin Kazan.
Klopp is yet to taste success since replacing Brendan Rodgers as the club’s manager having begun his era with a 1-1 draw at Tottenham last weekend. Hopes were high that a Europe League meeting with Russian side Rubin Kazan would seal the with victory for the German, but those plans soon went pear-shaped when Marko Devic scored the opener.
The Reds were handed a boost when Rubin went down to 10 men after captain Oleg Kuzmin was sent-off for a second bookable offence, and matters were made even better when Emre Can scored from the ensuing free-kick.
However, Liverpool were unable to go on and take all three points, and Klopp has likened the experience to moving home without receiving a housewarming gift.
"When you come for the first time in a new house, normally you have a present," he said.
"I am not quite satisfied with my present tonight but it was only the first time and I will come again.
"It was not a masterclass but it is not the worst day in my life.
"I would say 98 per cent was okay, not perfect, the other two per cent, that is the problem of this game.
Klopp added that playing against 10 men can prove a difficult prospect to break down, and apart from a Christian Benteke effort that struck the post on the striker’s return from injury, there was not much to write home about.
We had our moments and hit the post through Christian but at the end (there was) no goal
"Sometimes it is a big advantage against 10 men, most of the time they stop playing football and defend in a compact block," said Klopp.
"We had our moments and hit the post through Christian but at the end (there was) no goal."
The result leaves Liverpool with three points from a possible nine after recording a third 1-1 result of the campaign, and means that Sion have already built up a four-point gap over the Merseyside outfit.
However, Klopp is not worried by the gap, and believes that a victory in the return leg in Kazan in two weeks’ time will get their European campaign back on track.
"Sion won their game and they are away in the group. We can come back in Kazan. That is the next challenge," he added.
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