Kenny Dalglish admitted Liverpool were made to pay for a slow start as Tottenham Hotspur dented their European aspirations with a 2-0 victory at Anfield on Sunday.
A volley from Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric's penalty secured the points for Spurs to ensure the race for Europa League qualification will go right to the wire.
In order to finish fifth, the Reds must now better Tottenham's result against Birmingham when Dalglish takes his charges to Aston Villa next Sunday.
"I think they started better than we did, scored a goal and we didn't start to play for 25-30 minutes," the boss told his post-match press conference.
"We started to look a bit better, but then at the start of the second half they got the second goal and that gave them a real foothold in the game.
"It was difficult for us to break them down. We didn't have enough on the day to break them down and penetrate their goal, but I don't think Pepe was overly busy either.
"We never played as well as we can play and that's a disappointment for the players because it would have been a fitting way for them to finish the last game of the season at Anfield for the efforts they've put in since January. But maybe it was too much of a fairytale.
"We're disappointed we never got the result because it would have been a fitting way to end."
He added: "We don't know why we didn't start as well as what we have done and are capable of, but I suppose like in everything else, you get days like that."
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