Liverpool vs Plymouth: Derek Adams praises his side for one of 'best ever defensive performances seen at Anfield'
'There are only three teams who have come to Anfield in recent times and drawn 0-0,' Adams said. 'Plymouth are one of them. We are a League Two side'
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Your support makes all the difference.Derek Adams believes Plymouth Argyle delivered “one of the best defensive performances Anfield has probably ever seen” after a goalless draw in the FA Cup.
Jürgen Klopp admitted the League Two club deserved to take the third round tie to a replay following a frustrating afternoon for Liverpool where the German named the youngest side in the club’s history.
Adams did not care that Liverpool’s domination was marked by statistics which revealed 88 per cent possession in their favour at half time and then 77 per cent at the end.
“They could have had 90 per cent,” Adams said. “The game plan was to stop them scoring. There are only three teams who have come to Anfield in recent times and drawn 0-0. Plymouth are one of them. We are a League Two side.
“We defended deep, in numbers, we allowed Liverpool to have the ball. You have to avoid good players having space and time. We did have a couple of opportunities. We didn’t take them. We limited Liverpool to not many. The players have worked extremely hard.”
Liverpool face a journey to Home Park after trips to Southampton in the League Cup semi-final and then Manchester United in a key Premier League fixture.
Adams warned Klopp about the conditions he should expect in Devon. “Not as luxurious dressing rooms as they are here,” he joked. “We are in a Portakabin. Welcome to the real world.”
Having made ten changes following the draw at Sunderland, Klopp was not aware he was making history by selecting a team with an average age of 21, twin details which perhaps contributed towards the lack of intensity in Liverpool’s play. He proceeded to describe the game as “boring.”
“It is my responsibility the whole thing, line up and performance,” he conceded. “We could have done better, one-hundred-per-cent. In the first half we lost too early the patience: Crossing at the wrong moment, the wrong pass.”
He tried to lean on the positives.
“The result is not the worst thing in the world” he insisted. “The young players will have more experience of frustrating situations.”
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