Jordan Henderson has said he was down to take the sixth penalty against Man City on Sunday.
The captain has received criticism from some sections of the fanbase for not taking one of the five, but he says it was the manager’s decision.
“Milly (James Milner) was down to take the fifth one and then it was me on the list, he said. That was down to the manager and the coaching team,” he said (via Echo).
He then went on to discuss how hard it was to lose in those circumstances, but urged the players to bounce back on Wednesday like they did against Chelsea in 2012.
“It’s not nice to see someone else lift the trophy. It felt as though we did enough to win but that’s football – sometimes it is cruel.
“At 1-1 I felt that the momentum was with us. We were winning the ball back in crucial areas and we were getting the ball up the field quickly, causing them problems. But it wasn’t our day.
“You have to take the positives out of the game. I know it’s difficult but you have to learn from the experience.
“It’s a similar situation to when we were beaten by Chelsea in the cup final and beat them 4-1 the next week. Something similar would be nice but it wouldn’t make up for the disappointment of the final.”
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Finally, he echoed Kolo Toure’s sentiments about the importance of the Europa League:
“There’s still things to play for, especially the league – finishing as high up the table as possible – and the Europa League. We have to pick ourselves up and focus on what we have to do between now and the end of the season.
“We have a great bunch of lads, great characters in the dressing room, and I think you saw that on the pitch – there was a lot of personality. I’m sure there will be no problem in moving forwards, trying to finish off the season as best we can.”