Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Vitor Pereira has claimed that his side showed "too much respect" to Liverpool in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Anfield.
The West Midlands outfit made the trip to Merseyside on the back of consecutive 2-0 victories over Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers respectively.
However, although Wolves proved to be a frequent threat against the Premier League leaders, Matheus Cunha's outstanding second-half strike proved to be no more than a consolation.
Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah, from the penalty spot, had earlier put Liverpool into a 2-0 advantage, albeit the first half featuring a contentious moment when Ibrahima Konate was perhaps fortunate not to receive a second yellow card.
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What did Pereira have to say?
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Pereira was of the opinion that Konate had been fortunate to remain on the pitch, that perhaps being highlighted by Arne Slot removing the Frenchman at half time.
Nevertheless, Pereira revealed his disappointment with Wolves' own opening 45 minutes, essentially insisting that they had gifted all the momentum to Liverpool.
The Portuguese said: "I'm frustrated because our first half was not good. I think we showed a lot of respect to them and we cannot play like this. We must play our game. At half time, I asked the team to press them in our way and we did a fantastic second half. The second goal was not possible but I think we deserve it.
"The first half was a lot of respect, too much respect. We cannot play football this way. We like to press high and to create chances, have the ball and play with courage.
On Konate, he said: "Everything I can say now will not change the decision. I have my opinion but I keep it to myself. It is better not to speak about referees.
"Second yellow card, maybe. It would be different but it is what it is. I am not a referee. I am very happy, very proud of my players for what we did in the second half. I don't care if it's Liverpool or another team, it's about my team. I want to see the courage to play. Next time we need to realise that we have quality and we need to play with it.
"Second half was fantastic, I remember Liverpool with a lot of difficulties to stop us."
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What next for Wolves?
Defeat for Wolves means that they remain two points clear of Ipswich Town and Leicester City - who sit in the relegation zone - in the Premier League standings.
Next up for Wolves is a trip to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth on February 22, a week before they make the same journey for a tie in the FA Cup fifth round.
In between those two matches is a home encounter against Fulham on February 25.
Darren Plant
