Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has compared his side's slow start to the season to the recent struggles of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Reds let even more points slip out of their grasp in a 3-3 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, despite coming back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 at Anfield.
Leandro Trossard completed his hat-trick late on to steal a point for the Seagulls, as more questions were asked of Klopp's side defensively.
Liverpool are languishing in ninth place in the Premier League table after taking 10 points from their opening seven matches - 11 adrift of league leaders Arsenal, who they face at the weekend, with a game in hand.
The Reds will take on Rangers in their third Champions League Group A match of the campaign on Tuesday before a trip to the Emirates Stadium, and Klopp addressed the media on Monday afternoon ahead of the contest.
© Reuters
When asked about his team's current lack of confidence, the German insisted that all teams and players endure moments of low morale, including Messi and Ronaldo with a combined 12 Ballon d'Ors between them.
"Do you think Cristiano Ronaldo at this moment is at the top of his confidence level? And for ages he was the best player in the world and now it is not going his way," Klopp responded.
"It happens to all of us. Lionel Messi played last season and it was pretty much the same. These things happen to all of us. You have to take a step in the right direction and when you're ready, it's back. We have to be patient again to do the right thing and then we will be fine again. We have to be more solid and compact definitely."
Messi struggled to hit his normal goalscoring heights during his first season at Paris Saint-Germain, netting just six goals in 26 Ligue 1 matches, although he has struck five in nine games so far this term.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo ended the 2021-22 campaign with 18 Premier League goals for Manchester United, but he is playing a peripheral role under Erik ten Hag and has only netted once in the Europa League so far.
© Reuters
Klopp was also pressed on the form of striker Darwin Nunez, who was only handed one minute of action at the weekend as Roberto Firmino started and struck a brace in the draw with Brighton.
The 23-year-old could end up becoming Liverpool's most expensive player of all time in an £85m deal, but he has failed to hit the ground running, and Klopp has urged for patience with the striker while he adapts to the English game.
"He is still adapting. New players come in and everybody talks about them and wants them to shine immediately and that happens from time to time," Klopp added.
"We had a long talk yesterday and we told him we are completely calm. It's really important in our situation that he isn't worrying. The three-game suspension didn't help him to settle, that's clear.
"The team isn't flying and that doesn't make it easier for a striker, especially a finisher. It's not that everything is clicking, that is not our situation at the moment."
Nunez has two goals and one assist to boast from seven games in all competitions for Liverpool, as they sit second in Champions League Group A ahead of the visit of Rangers, who have lost both of their opening games to Ajax and Napoli by an aggregate score of 7-0.
No Data Analysis info
