Saturday 19 November 2016 18:58, UK
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp refused to use tired legs as an excuse after his side drew 0-0 at Southampton on Saturday.
The Reds largely dominated at a rain-soaked St Mary's but failed to take their chances, with Roberto Firmino and Nathaniel Clyne both missing good opportunities in the second half.
Firmino and Clyne were among several Liverpool players who were away on international duty in the week and even though some only returned a couple of days before the trip to the south coast, Klopp did not use that as an excuse for the stalemate.
"We decided to buy players from Brazil, or with the longest distance, so that's the situation, we cannot change it," he told Sky Sports. "There is nothing to think about. We have to use the seconds and minutes from when the plane lands and the next game starts, it's a challenge but it was possible.
"We had no session to prepare because guys came back too late, so we used the first half to prepare for the second half.
"We did well. We had three really big chances and it should be enough, but it's not a problem.
"My experience tells me that usually a game like this you lose when you are not ready to fight, and we were ready to fight, even for the draw. We deserved a point as minimum so I'm completely fine."
The draw means Liverpool have been joined at the top of the Premier League by Manchester City, and could be leapfrogged by Chelsea if they beat Middlesbrough on Nissan Super Sunday.
Klopp admitted the Reds could have won with the chances they had, but was pleased with the display, particularly after half-time.
"It was an intense game, the first half was not bad, but not bad is not good enough," he said. "Second half was very good. We could have won with the chances, but we played against a very organised side.
"There are two things to think about, the result and the performance. The performance was good after difficult preparation."
