Michael Laudrup knows that his side were beaten by the better team as Everton won 3-0 at the Liberty Stadium
โEverton deserved the win,โ he said.
โThey were much better than us and we have to be very disappointed with our performance in the first half-hour.
โWe were too slow and not quick enough with the ball, and that was the benchmark for the defeat. We still created plenty of chances, but Everton could also have scored four or five.
โIt was our worst display so far this season, and we must learn from it. Everton didnโt surprise us tactically – they played exactly the same as they did here last season.
โThey play high up, press you and play man for man. That means we needed to move the ball much quicker and we didnโt do that.
โIt was a reminder to us all,โ said Laudrup. โWe are a good team when we have the ball and we move it quickly.
โBut if we donโt then we will have problems against everyone, both at home and away.
โWe had a good response at the end of the first half and again at the start of the second period, but it was the first 30 minutes that was our downfall.
โThe second yellow card was unlucky,โ he said. โNathan has gone to kick the ball and he has missed it and caught the opponent.
โIt was a definite yellow card and it was unfortunate that it came shortly after he had already been booked.
โBut we have to learn from this defeat and it is a wake-up call from everyone.โ