Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has partly blamed the poor quality of his side's home playing surface for their goalless draw with Southampton.
The Reds slipped up in their pursuit of a top-four finish by producing a laboured display on Merseyside, squandering their best chance of the match from the penalty spot as James Milner was denied by Fraser Forster.
It was a familiar tale of frustration for Liverpool, who have now failed to net against the Saints in four meetings this term and picked up two points from the last nine on offer at Anfield.
Speaking after the match, Klopp claimed that the "really dry" pitch did not help matters, having previously blamed the wind for his side's defeat to the same opposition in January.
"It is not what I want. To be successful you have to have a fortress at home," he told reporters. "That is very important. We had that here for a long period. Now we have had a few results which are not that good. I know nobody wants to hear it but I am brave enough to say it. The pitch was really dry today.
"We gave it all the water we had but after 15 minutes it was really dry again with the wind. It was difficult. You could see it - a lot passes you thought 'why are they playing this?' But it was difficult. In a possession game you need to have the best circumstances, if possible, in a home game especially, but today we couldn't have this.
"That is nobody's fault; it is only a description. It is not nice to drop points at home but now we play away and then we have another home game. We really still enjoy playing at home. It is only a mental issue if you think it is one. We don't see this. The boys like it here, they like playing in front of their crowd.
"That is all. Today the atmosphere was really good. People were really in the game. Everybody tried everything and it didn't work out finally."
Liverpool conclude their campaign with a trip to West Ham United next weekend and the visit of Middlesbrough on the final day.
Daniel Lewis
