As Brighton left Liverpool's training grounds, a heavy silence pervaded the dressing room of Liverpool's U18 team.
"Because you weren't marking properly, maybe?" asked Liam, the right-back, throwing his towel on the floor. "That number ten, Miguel, passed a free ten times."
At the other end of the bench, Mason, the team captain, was cleaning his boots without saying a word. He was always the last to speak. When he finally raised his head, the murmurs stopped.
"Let's be honest. We underestimated them. It's as simple as that. They were quick, organized, and played as a team, while we... well, everyone seemed to play on their own."
Nobody wanted to admit it, but he was right. They did win, but they knew they had made a lot of mistakes.
