Sadio Mane’s second half strike was enough to separate the sides as the Eagles fought valiantly against the Reds, and the Dutchman was satisfied with the improvement shown following the opening day defeat to Huddersfield Town, suggesting that further displays of that ilk will see his side claim plenty of points over the course of the next 36 games.
In his post-match press conference, De Boer was questioned on a number of topics, including:
The performance: “I think we concentrated well for 95 minutes but the end of the day, you know these kind of games are decided by chances, and when you get them, you have to punish them. Of course Christian had the biggest one, but the positive for me is that we concentrated and really played as a team and stuck to the plan. That’s a compliment to the squad, and I said after the game that if they show this kind of intensity and discipline, the results will come.
“Liverpool are always difficult, especially at Anfield so to lose 1-0 is disappointing because we worked so hard and we deserved more, but I am convinced that I we show this every week, then the points will come.”
The goal: “He [Milivojevic] was out of control and I’m not sure what exactly happened, but we were in control of the game at that moment and suddenly it was on the feet of Mane. We had dealt so well in the minutes before and after it, so it’s even harder to concede a goal like that. If you concede a goal, you want it to be because of Liverpool’s quality.”
Other positives: “Liverpool were frustrated that they had to play around us and between us, so that’s a good compliment for the team, but you have to reward yourself for that and at the end it’s all about the points. We are still empty handed right now, but I have good confidence that we will get some very soon.”
Possible incomings: “I have already got three players in in Ruben, Jairo and Timothy, and we are still looking. If we think that there is the chance to inject quality into the squad we won’t hesitate, but it has to be the right one and we will not panic buy.”