Gary O'Neil, who was previously in charge of the Reds' U21s side, raised eyebrows with his verdict after Liverpool beat Ipswich in the Premier League via an Alexander Isak brace
Ipswich manager Gary O'Neil.
Ipswich manager Gary O'Neil.(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Ipswich manager Gary O'Neil felt that his side was better than Liverpool across the course of the 90 minutes at Portman Road, with Alexander Isak netting a brace early on.
The Reds started brilliantly and moved two goals in front with Cody Gakpo and Victor Munoz both electric in an exciting first half. But O'Neil thought that Ipswich was only made to pay for some early sloppiness.
"Proud of the group," O'Neil told Sky Sports. "I thought we were excellent. Two mistakes in the first 10 minutes made it very difficult, but I think we were probably the better side for large parts after that. More shots and some really good chances.
"Obviously, the mistakes were big; we were punished heavily by world-class players, but then an excellent response and we gave it our best, which the fans appreciated, as you could see from their reaction at the end.
"But we are here for points, so next week we have to make sure we take some.
"There were no issues out there for us tactically. Similar to Manchester United, but at Manchester United we lost our way and moved away from the game plan.
Alexander Isak of Liverpool runs off the ball during the Premier League match against Ipswich Town
Alexander Isak scored a brace in Liverpool's victory over Ipswich Town(Image: Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
"Today the lads were able to get straight back down to business. Second half especially, I thought we were excellent with the ball and cut through them many times.
"We didn't quite find that moment of quality to get us back in it, but of course this is one of the most extreme tests, and we came up a little short in terms of points.
"But in terms of what I asked for the players, I thought they were very very good."
Ipswich is now on three points, having beaten Sunderland on the opening weekend. Matches against Manchester United and then Liverpool were not easy ones to follow.
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"It's nice, definitely [to get the first win]," Andoni Iraola said, after draws with Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.
"We needed that one with the way it has been. We got a clean sheet. Controlling the game quite well, I think that we started the game really strong, and then it was another kind of second half. Probably wasn't as good as the first one."
Liverpool faces Atletico Madrid next, in the Champions League, before hosting Fulham next weekend.