Ipswich Town Shows Character Despite Liverpool Defeat

Issa Diop insisted Ipswich Town showed character despite being punished early in their 2-0 home defeat to Liverpool at Portman Road on Friday night.

Alexander Isak struck twice inside the opening 10 minutes to leave Ipswich reeling, but Diop rejected any suggestion that his side folded after the nightmare start.

"It's even harder when it's again Liverpool and a top side like that," the defender told BBC Radio Suffolk, reflecting on a bruising first spell in front of their own fans.

The early double could have broken them. It didn’t. Ipswich steadied, tightened up and began to claw their way back into the contest, carving out chances and forcing Liverpool to defend.

"The good thing is the response after conceding the second goal was good," Diop said. "We stuck together, we reacted well. We could have done better in different ways."

That edge of frustration was clear. Concede twice that quickly to a team of Liverpool’s quality and the margin for error vanishes. Diop knows it, and he knows where the responsibility lies.

"You can always do better when you concede goals so we can work on it this week," he added, already turning his attention to the next challenge.

Crystal Palace away at Selhurst Park on Saturday now looms as a test of resilience as much as quality. Ipswich will go there carrying the sting of defeat, but also a belief that the response, not the result, must set the tone.