Philippe Coutinho says Liverpool did not follow Jurgen Klopp's instructions against Tottenham

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has slammed the Reds for not following Jurgen Klopp's defensive instructions which saw them get obliterated 4-1 against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.

Dejan Lovren was blamed for the first two goals which the Reds conceded in the opening 20 minutes of the game. The Croatian centre-back lost track of Harry Kane for the opener before a misjudged header on the halfway line allowed Son Heung-min to double Spurs' lead.

Klopp responded by taking off Lovren and replacing him with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain around the half-hour mark, but the goals continued to flow as Dele Alli and Kane struck either side of half time to drive Spurs level on points with Manchester United and only three behind Manchester City in the race for the title.

Coutinho did not have the best of games by his standards and was well denied by saves from Hugo Lloris as the Reds tried to force their way into the game. Liverpool have taken only one point from their last two games in the league, drawing against the Red Devils at Anfield last weekend.

"The goals were goals that could have been prevented. It started out wide and we end up conceding one of those goals the manager speaks about," Coutinho said, speaking to ESPN Brazil.

"He speaks a lot about this - we've conceded a lot of goals like this. And obviously in attack we were unable to score the goals necessary to draw or turn around the game. We were in the game during the first-half then the goal we conceded made everything worse.

"The first goal started in a wide position where everyone is involved in defending, not just the players right at the back. We have to improve this as quickly as possible in order to win games and fight more. With difficult games like this one, we know it's these things that decide them. So we need to concentrate more to deal with balls like this."