Jurgen Klopp urges 'unlucky' Liverpool to get ruthless in front of goal

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has urged his side to discover a ruthless edge and be more clinical, after the Reds squandered a host of chances as they were held to a 1-1 draw in Moscow by Spartak in their second Champions League game.

Philippe Coutinho's first goal in the competition rescued a point for Liverpool on Tuesday (26 September), but the five-time European Cup winners are still looking for their first win in the tournament this season after drawing their opener 2-2 against Sevilla.

Having gone behind against the run of play to a brilliant free-kick from Fernando, Klopp's men equalised shortly afterward before dominating the remainder of game. However they failed to find a winner, despite having 16 shots on goal.

"We have to be more clinical – 100%," said the German.

"To create all those chances and only score one goal feels average. It was a crazy game.

"What can I say? We created, created and created. Where is the real point for criticism? We tried with all we had. The effort was great."

Liverpool have been widely criticised for their defensive frailties this season and have failed to keep a clean sheet in the last six games in all competitions, but it was their profligacy in front of goal that cost them a result on Tuesday.

However, Klopp said bad luck was as much to blame as the lack of a clinical edge in front of goal.

"We are not the most lucky team in world football but we did very well in creating chances against a defensive oriented team," he explained.

"We could have created more chances that is the crazy thing.

"We were unlucky, there were good saves from both goalkeepers and wrong decisions at the decisive moment. That is how football is, the only way you can change it is to do it again and do it again."

The draw means Liverpool have not won away from Anfield in the Champions League since 2009 and trail Sevilla by two points, after the Spaniards comfortably cruised past Maribor with a 3-0 win. However, Liverpool remain joint-second alongside Spartak and Klopp believes his men are more than good enough to reach the knockout stage.

"We are strong enough to qualify," he said.

"The door is open but we have to walk through. We can see a bit of light. We have to stay cool, work hard and we will be all right.

"The only thing is to go through the group and that is still possible for us we would have won both games but didn't and that is our fault. There were a lot of good things it was not a good result."