Watford manager Javi Gracia says Liverpool game closer than scoreline suggests
Watford were beaten 3-0 by Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday
Saturday 24 November 2018 19:06, UK
Javi Gracia says Watford's 3-0 loss to Liverpool was a closer game than the scoreline suggests, but he accepts the result.
The hosts managed to keep Liverpool at bay for the first 67 minutes, before Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino found the net.
Watford were unable to take advantage of their extra man in the final ten minutes after Jordan Henderson was sent off, and Gracia thinks the game was closer than the 3-0 scoreline shows.
"Everybody knows Liverpool are a great team but the best way we could play was like we did in the first half - defending, working hard, helping each other and trying to find a good option on counter and in set-pieces," he told Sky Sports.
"In the second half, they scored and I think the match was closer than the scoreline but we accept and continue.
"I think we played well for 65 minutes with good defensive work. Maybe we could improve our attack, but playing against Liverpool is difficult and demanding but we tried.
"There were different moments where if we had done better, we could have scored but we didn't and after that, it was difficult."
Gracia is set to sign a new contract with Watford this week which will take him up to the end of the 2020/21 season, and the Spanish manager is happy to pen a new deal.
"I don't need to have a new contract to do my job or to feel better. In this moment, I am happy because I can feel the club is in the same way as me with the same ambition and I am happy to extend my contract."
