Liverpool 4-1 Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna’s verdict.

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna described his team’s performance in this afternoon’s 4-1 defeat against Liverpool as ‘a tremendous positive and strong sign’. The Premier League leaders were in cruise control at Anfield, with goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Mo Salah, and Cody Gakpo putting them up 3-0 at halftime. Gakpo scored a fourth after the interval before Trent Alexander-Arnold hit the post. Ipswich, coming off a 6-0 home hammering at the hands of Manchester City six days earlier, finished fiercely and earned a merited consolation goal when Jacob Greaves headed in from a corner. “Yeah, a difficult game,” McKenna replied when asked for his opinion.

“It was a difficult and frustrating position to be in at halftime. In some ways, it was similar to last week in that there were some positives in the first half, it didn’t feel like we were under a lot of pressure, we started the game well, and then we fell behind in the game, and then a few goals behind. “Liverpool executed well, but we could not defend our box well enough, and we are in a really difficult situation in the game, especially after last week. “It was a really difficult game management scenario, and I believe we can take a lot of positives from the second half.

“First, consider the early parts of the second half. Everyone stuck together, and we learnt a few lessons from last week. We kept organised, managed the game well, and still had some nice passages and ball plays. “Then we closed the game extremely well, the replacements had a good influence, we grabbed a goal back, could have had another, and the fans got a reward. “Look, this is a challenging game on top of another difficult game. We’ve made some mistakes in there that we can learn from, and there are reasons for that too, but I feel like it’s one that, if we take the lessons in the right way and work hard on them, we can be stronger for.

“Finishing in the manner we did after two difficult games is a big positive and a good sign for us.” Wes Burns was stretchered off in the first half after twisting his knee while challenging Gakpo. “Not good,” McKenna conceded when questioned about the Welshman. “It was not an impact; it was a movement. We’ve crossed our fingers, but his knee is swollen and he’s using crutches. He’ll go for a scan. We hope it isn’t as awful as it appears, but it looks like a major one.” McKenna explained his decision to replace Leif Davis with Conor Townsend during the break: “He was sick this week, felt better yesterday and wanted to have a go at it, but he felt sick during the game and was sick at half-time.

“Conor Townsend comes on, and Salah is a heck of an opponent to face after only playing three minutes in the league this season. “He did well.” Enciso, a Paraguayan forward, came off the bench to make a lively cameo, assisting Greaves’ goal with a fantastic corner. “Julio, Nathan (Broadhead) and George Hirst all had a positive impact when they came on, to be fair,” McKenna told reporters. “They instilled in us new vigour and unique abilities. George may have scored with a header off Conor’s cross. Julio delivered a fantastic goal, and Nathan had some fantastic moments as well. “That is exactly what we indicated we would need. We needed to add more talent and depth to the squad, particularly in the forward areas.

“I think Jaden (Philogene) showed some really excellent traits tonight, as did Julio off the bench. “I believe we will be stronger in that position in the second half of the season.” McKenna said of Town’s vocal travelling supporters, who persevered with the club throughout the game, “They were fantastic.” It clearly means a lot. They value the challenge, the size of the jump, and the quantity of change that occurred. “I’m glad we were able to give them a goal at the end. We want to reciprocate their support in the next weeks and months with some pleasant days.” Town, who are still 18th and level on points with Wolves, face bottom-of-the-table Southampton at home on Saturday.

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