Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson feels Wednesday’s EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Southampton represents the perfect opportunity to bounce back from the agony of defeat at home to Swansea.
A Roberto Firmino brace levelled the scores after the relegation strugglers took a stunning two-goal lead, only for Gylfi Sigurdsson’s strike to condemn Jurgen Klopp’s men to their first home loss in over a year.
The result leaves Liverpool ten points adrift of leaders Chelsea and has been viewed by some as a potentially fatal blow to their waning title hopes.
Though he concedes the last-gasp sucker-punch is hard to take, Henderson has called for a show of character against the Saints as the Reds look to overturn a one-goal deficit and secure a place in the final.
“No-one knows that, we’ll find out at the end of the season,” the skipper replied when asked if the defeat could dump his side out of contention.
“But it’s how you react after defeats, that’s how you can show character, show your spirit and show how good you are as a team in the game after.
“The next game is very important for us, and we need to react in the right way.”
The Englishman refused to point the finger at the much-maligned back four, at times overwhelmed by the Swans on the counter attack.
“I felt, as a team, at times we did [defend well] but at times we can defend a lot better,” he admitted.
“We need to make sure, especially when you get back in the game at 2-2, that first and foremost you defend and, with the quality we’ve got, you always fancy us to get another goal.”
