LONDON (REUTERS) - Liverpool's players got to see the angry side of their manager Juergen Klopp at halftime in their 2-1 win over Swansea City on Saturday (Oct 1) as the German coach sought to drag his side back into the match after a woeful start.
Liverpool trailed to Leroy Fer's eighth-minute opener and barely created a chance in a limp first 45 minutes at the Liberty Stadium that fell a long way short of their recent high standards.
Klopp's side emerged after the break re-invigorated, equalising through Roberto Firmino's header and then snatching victory when James Milner netted from the penalty spot with six minutes remaining.
"I was very angry," Klopp told reporters at his post-match news conference.
"It looked like we were here to be in a football game but I wanted them to show we are here because we want to win a football game.
"But we had to cool down as well. We were losing patience. There were too many harsh fouls and small things, moaning about decisions even though the decisions were absolutely correct. You need to stop this."
Liverpool came into the encounter in South Wales having scored 11 goals in their previous three league games, but there was little evidence of that attacking flair as Swansea took an early stranglehold on the game.
"It was bad, I would say. We were not ready for this game," Klopp said.
"Obviously, it's my responsibility that we are ready for games, today I saw we weren't.
"(Our) body language was not good, the build-up was absolutely too static. Swansea did well, so that's maybe the most important thing to say first, but we were really too static."
The contrast with their second-half display, however, was pronounced, as Liverpool pegged Swansea back and did enough to secure a fourth straight win that lifted them to second in the table.
"It was very important that we showed the reaction in the second half," Klopp said.
"I didn't think before the game that this would be the day where we would be that bad because there was no sign in training this week. But that's what we are still learning and we have enough time to think about it now until we play again."
