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Jordan Henderson acknowledged that Liverpool’s start in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Fulham fell well below the standards expected of the team.
Mohamed Salah’s penalty in the 79th minute earned the Reds a point after initial pressure from Fulham saw them advance in the first half through Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
The result keeps Liverpool second in the Premier League and tied on points with current leaders Tottenham Hotspur.
Reacting to the Fulham clash, Henderson told Sky Sports: “We didn’t really get going until after the first 25, 30 minutes actually, which in the Premier League you can’t do, otherwise you get punished, and We did it .. Disappointing.
“The good thing is that we reacted well after that, we finished the half strong, we came out again in the second half and we dominated and maybe we should have scored one or two more.
“So disappointed with the start but satisfied with the reaction for most of the game.
“It was a slow start, they started very well, to give them credit. We will have to look at it but [it’s] not like us.
“So we have to move fast, another great game is coming, but we can’t start like this in the future.
“We need to start the half as we finished the first half. There were a lot of us who weren’t happy with the start, and rightly so. But like I say, it was just half time, another 45 minutes to go and we gave it our all in the second. half.
“You have to give Fulham credit, they made it difficult as we knew they would, they defended deeply and made it very difficult to create chances.
“So when you can’t win, don’t lose. But at the same time, we’re disappointed because I felt like we are good enough to score all three points.”
The Craven Cottage encounter came on the heels of Liverpool’s Champions League trip to Denmark in the middle of the week, where they drew with FC Midtjylland.
Henderson, however, did not offer the workload as an excuse for Fulham’s display and is now starting to look toward Wednesday’s meeting at Anfield with the Spurs.
“I don’t want to make excuses,” said the captain. “I’ll let them talk about that and the number of games the players are playing and things like that, especially the European teams.
“But I don’t want to stay here and make excuses. We just have to prepare and play when they tell us. That’s all we can do and that’s what we’ve been doing.
“We flew back from Denmark, prepared well, but for some reason we didn’t start the game well. But the good thing is that we reacted very well, as we normally do, and maybe we could have won the game another day. But yes, we will be disappointed to go home.
“All the games are great, but the Spurs are doing very well. Great team, great coach, so it will be another difficult game. But we have to recover, prepare and give it all again.”
