Nagelsmann slams Hoffenheim's Anfield collapse

Hoffenheim head coach Julian Nagelsmann gave a scathing assessment of his team's performance as they suffered a 6-3 aggregate defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League play-off round.

Emre Can hit a first-half brace, while Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino were also on target as the Premier League team booked their place in the group stage with a 4-2 triumph at Anfield on Wednesday.

Mark Uth and Sandro Wagner scored in each half for the Bundesliga outfit but Liverpool racing into a 3-0 lead after 18 minutes effectively ended the contest.

Nagelsmann insisted Liverpool's swashbuckling attacking play did not come as a surprise and claimed some players "did not show up" for the first half an hour.

"My thought [at 3-0 down] was this could be going better," he told a post-match news conference.

"We didn't stick to our plan and therefore couldn't build pressure. The same happened in the first leg.

"After 20 minutes, I thought it might get better. We started poorly, even in the first two or three minutes.

"Liverpool did exactly what we expected. We weren't switched on in defence. Everyone was playing for themselves.

"Some players didn't show up until after 30 minutes. By that point Liverpool had taken us apart.

"We were too emotional and we gave Liverpool to much space."

Nagelsmann added: "I'm disappointed because I don't handle defeat well. The better team won.

"I am going to analyse it. That is more important than emotion right now. We can be better in the future.

"The goals were all along the same lines. We need to deal better with attacking players.

"We didn't manage to transfer what we had prepared onto the field. It would have helped to have won a few one-on-one battles."