Potter said afterwards, "I’m devastated for the players because they gave everything in the game.

"It was a really strong performance; probably the best performance we’ve had.

"The balance between defence and attack was really good over the course of the game. I think we suffered at the start. It was an emotional atmosphere, and Liverpool came out with big intensity, moved the ball fast and it was difficult for us.

"At the same time, we stuck in there and were resilient, and that hasn’t always been the case. And we grew into the game, I thought, in the last part of the first half. We had some opportunities and hit the bar.

"In the second half we put on a really strong performance.

"We created some big opportunities and hit the bar again. We scored the goal, and then you start to think you’ve got something to show for your effort and for the quality.

"But, maybe that’s the difference. The team at the top of the league has the mentality to keep going and see it out, and unfortunately we don’t take anything from the game."

"Lot of positives for us"

Potter insists there were plenty of positives to draw from the performance, despite the late defeat.

He also said, "There are a lot of positives for us.

"As I said, the performance was strong from our perspective. We created some opportunities, and we pushed a good, top team back.

"Defensively, I thought we were quite solid. As solid as you can be with Liverpool. They’re so dangerous, and their transition is so fast, but we managed it quite well.

"And like I said, in the second half, we created some really good opportunities.

"We’ve been competitive in all the games, and we just have to get over the line now.

"I think we’ve had a couple of halves that we’ve not been happy with at all in recent months, against Brentford at home and the first half of Wolves away. Apart from that, we’ve been really competitive.

"Without being fantastic in terms of where we want to move to, we’ve certainly been competitive and together. Today was probably a step on again, set over the course of the game. Performance-wise, it’s as strong as we’ve been.

"So, we have to stick to that and concentrate on the positives and then go again next weekend, against Southampton."