Joel Matip Laments Another Defensive Slip-Up After Liverpool Crash Out of the FA Cup

Liverpool's much-maligned defence once again took centre stage as they crashed out of the FA Cup fourth-round, after a 3-2 home defeat to West Brom. Reds defender Joël Matip, who scored an own goal in the game, was left lamenting the costly defensive errors that lead to his side's defeat. 

It seemed to be business as usual when Roberto Firmino opened up the scoring for the home team, though two quick Jay Rodriguez goals for the Baggies re-opened old holes in Liverpool's defence. 

It was Matip's own goal on the stroke of half-time that made the deficit too much for Liverpool to overcome - despite a second-half goal from Mohamed Salah.

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After the game, Matip offered a brutally honest self-assessment on his side's performance. He told the club website: "We started in front, our offensive play was okay, but in the defence we had problems.

"Mistakes like my one kill every team. This mistake cannot happen, I have to clear this ball.

"In the first half, [conceding] three goals, it hurts every team. It was really hard to come back then."

The defeat now makes it two consecutive defeats for the Reds, who lost last weekend against bottom-placed side Swansea. The mood around Anfield was dropped to melancholy, which is a stark difference from the euphoria they experienced two weeks ago where they handed the first-place side Manchester City their first defeat.  

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Crashing out of the FA Cup means that Liverpool can now focus on the next task at hand, securing a top-four finish, though Matip agrees that Liverpool will have to overturn their eerily bad form if they are to achieve their aim.

He added: "We have to do everything to turn things [around], to get in better shape and get better results."

The Reds travel to Huddersfield during the midweek for their next game, hoping to provide an immediate response from a hellish past two weeks.