A first defeat suffered as Chelsea manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari was naturally disappointed, but insists it changes little in his bid for silverware.
A Xabi Alonso strike in the first 10 minutes ended our 86-game unbeaten home record, as well as our Premier League run that went back to December last year, yet Scolari remains pragmatic and forecasts that his side will bounce back.
The Brazilian conceded that Liverpool had done enough to secure victory, which sends them top of the Premier League on their own with 23 points from the first nine games, but was disappointed with his own side's failure to play incisive passing football.
'[Liverpool manager Rafa] Benitez is intelligent and he knows we do not have a centre-forward two metres tall. The only chances were for us to cross the ball, and when we do he has very good players at the back to jump. I don't want this,' assessed Scolari.
'I don't want to lose the game, but we need to play, touch the ball, not put the ball in the box every time.
'We didn't play as Chelsea played in other games because we didn't have space. They put eight players out defensively, and there was no space to work the ball, only to cross. This is not the football that we play. We need to try to play on the ground, not high balls because I don't have big strikers.
'In the first half we dominated the game, second half we had more possession of the ball and touched the ball until near the area. We crossed many balls and they have good full-backs and defensive line, and they cleared every cross.'
Still without Didier Drogba in attack, as well as creative forces Michael Ballack and Joe Cole, Scolari believes we must be patient with the squad available.
'We need to understand these are the players I have in this moment, I need to believe in and give confidence to these players. I changed the system to put two players up front, these are the players I have.
'Maybe in the future I have one, two, three more players from injury and I have more opportunity to change the system and the players. We lost today because Liverpool were better than us in the game. This is life.'
He also ruled Ballack and Drogba out for at least 10 days, though Cole could be in line for a return at Hull City on Wednesday.
The 59-year-old had previously indicated that the home unbeaten record was not his concern, his job being not to count matches but to win them, and trophies. Nothing has changed.
'If Liverpool beat Chelsea at any place it is the same three points. For me it is not different because I lost here, or in Liverpool, Manchester or Tottenham. Now they are three points in front of us, only this,' he said.
'I say sorry, but today we are not better than Liverpool and they win. I saw my players try their best, I don't want more than this.
'They are sad, it is normal, but it does not finish the world. It is only one game, we have 28, 30 more. Now we need to think about the next game.'
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