Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers admits his side should have done better in the first half of their home defeat against Manchester United.
The Reds desperately needed to take all three points to keep their top four chances alive.
But a 2-1 home defeat means they are now two wins away from fourth placed Manchester United with only eight games left in the domestic league.
"We disappointed in the first half," Rodgers said after the game.
"Our game was set up to press the opponent really high up the pitch, but our starting positions were way too deep from the early stages of the game and we handed over control way too easy.
"Rightly they were in front in the first half, they circulated the ball well and we were never in positions to press well enough.
"In the second half, we went down to 10 men early on but the players showed why they have been on the run that they have, with their character and resilience and they were still in the game right until the very end.
"That was the message to them afterwards: I take great pride in that. Not so happy with the first half - it was a game where the first half cost us more than the second.
"In that system, you have to be able to press well and pass well. If you're not doing both elements of the game then, of course, it becomes much more difficult for you to be effective.
"And that's how it was in the game today. In the first half, we weren't passing it anywhere near well enough. Ultimately we weren't pressing either.
"Both sides of our game suffered. We just didn't play well enough. You have to accept that. It just wasn't our day."
