Basel vs. Liverpool: Post-Match Reaction from Paulo Sousa and Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers rued his side's poor defending as Liverpool lost 1-0 away to Basel on Wednesday night in the Champions League and further reduced their chances of making it out of Group B.

Marco Streller swept home a loose ball from a corner in the 52nd minute for what proved to be the winner in a largely uninspiring encounter in Switzerland.

The Northern Irishman acknowledged that the way his side conceded—from a set piece—is becoming an alarming regularity in a poor start to the season, but claimed his side deserved at least a point, per the Champions League on Twitter: 

However, while Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli both had goals disallowed, the attacking prowess that got the Reds out of jail so often last season in the Premier League was not really on show at St. Jakob-Park.

As BBC Sport reports, the goal the Anfield side conceded was a particularly scrappy one, and with Liverpool and Basel likely set to be playing for second place behind Real Madrid to get out of the group, the Swiss team now have the upper hand:

Basel manager Paulo Sousa—like Rodgers, a former Swansea City boss—was highly complimentary of his players for grinding out what could be an essential win.

He described the match as an ideal encounter for his team and it marked Basel's first win of the competition so far having lost to Real Madrid on Matchday 1, per football writer Aakriti Mehrotra:

As Paddy Power reports, Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard was unimpressed with his side's performance against Basel:

Indeed, the Reds were widely accused of lacking any cutting edge on the night, football writer Kevin Palmer summing things up rather damningly:

It does not get any easier for Liverpool in the Champions League. Next up is Real Madrid at Anfield, and a loss to Basel and narrow home win to Ludogorets hardly make for ideal preparation to take on the defending champions.

Cristiano Ronaldo and co. could tear Liverpool's defence to shreds, and Rodgers will no doubt be desperate to resolve the situation at the back before the visit of Los Blancos to Merseyside on October 22.