Liverpool have only themselves to blame - not the officials - for
their Europa League final loss to Sevilla, James Milner has said.
James Milner refused to blame
the officials for Liverpool's Europa League final defeat to Sevilla,
saying his side did not perform to the level they expected.
Jurgen
Klopp's side held a deserved 1-0 lead at half-time in Basle thanks to a
brilliant Daniel Sturridge goal, but the holders produced a superb
comeback to secure a 3-1 victory and clinch a third trophy in as many
years.
The Liverpool boss confronted the referee
after the match, with his side having seen two shouts for a penalty for
handball waved away, while they felt aggrieved that the referee
overruled a decision to flag Coke's second goal for offside even though
the ball had clearly come off Philippe Coutinho into the winger's path.
Milner, however, insisted afterwards that his side cannot feel hard done by given their lacklustre display in the second half.
"It's
devastating losing the game but I think the most disappointing thing is
that we didn't show anywhere near what we're about. We didn't play
anywhere near our abilities," he told BT Sport.
"The
linesman's flag went up but the ref's given it the other way. There
were a few decisions which didn't go our way but it's nothing to do with
the referee. We've shown throughout this competition that we're good
enough to win it but we haven't tonight, the night that it mattered most
- that's the most important thing."
The defeat -
Liverpool's second in a cup final this season, after their penalty
shootout defeat in the League Cup to Manchester City - means Klopp's
side miss out on European football for next season, after they finished
eighth in the Premier League.
"We haven't really
thought about the Champions League [qualification spot], it was all
about winning this trophy," Milner said. "It's disappointing for a club
of our stature and it'll take a long time to get over it, but we have to
regroup and learn from it. We've been to two finals this year and not
managed to get over the line so we need to learn from that."
Kevin
Gameiro's equaliser came just 17 seconds into the second half and
Milner conceded that Liverpool never recovered from the setback.
"We
were ready, we made sure we were on it and everyone was switched on,
but we gave a sloppy goal away and never really got back into the game
from that," added the England international.
"We've
shown that character time and time again to come back in this
tournament this season but when you leave yourself too much to do that
many times it's very difficult to keep doing it."
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