Jurgen Klopp: 'I Only Have 10 Fingers' When Listing Reasons for Liverpool Loss

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp pulled no punches in his assessment of his side's performance on Tuesday after they sank to a 2-0 defeat at Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League. 

Milan Pavkov scored twice in the opening half-hour to hand Red Star the victory as Liverpool failed to hit back.

Per Dominic King of the Daily Mail, the German was asked if he could put his finger on what went wrong for the Reds and responded: "I only have 10 fingers."  

Daniel Sturridge missed a gilt-edged chance to score after 16 minutes when he blasted a half-volley over from six yards. Red Star made them pay five minutes later when Pavkov crashed home a header from a corner, and soon after he made it 2-0 with a sensational 25-yard strike.

Liverpool dominated the remainder of the contest but hit the woodwork twice as they failed to take their chances.

Klopp said the Reds are falling short of the high standard they set last year, per The Times' Paul Joyce:

Per King, the manager added:

"The boys are very disappointed. I am very disappointed and we have to do better. We have to do better because we can do better, but tonight it is too late. They had too many set pieces, that's true, and with one of them, they scored.

"Then more or less straight away they score the second one and then the atmosphere was completely different, you could feel it. They were on their bikes and we had to deal with the situation.

"It is not what we wanted and we will go for the other two games 100 per cent. We all have to deal with it now."

Liverpool had already lost in the UEFA Champions League this season, away at Napoli. They'll take on the Partenopei at Anfield in December after travelling to Paris Saint-Germain on November 28.

The defeat to Red Star leaves Liverpool in a slightly precarious position:

Klopp is well aware of the tough task his side face to escape the group: "I don't say it is already serious if we lose twice but we have to make sure it will not happen again. If we do, it will be difficult as the next game is an away game. The last one is a very difficult home game against Napoli. We have to make sure you cannot ask that question again."

There's hope for the Reds, though, per James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo:

Liverpool will do their utmost to take three points at the Parc des Princes in their next match, but having the safety net of the final game will be a relief.

They'll need to improve significantly to win either match, though, as they're playing within themselves at the moment.

It's a problem that has affected the team for much of the campaign despite their unbeaten start in the Premier League, and it will likely prove costly if they're unable to resolve it in the coming weeks.