Brendan Rodgers conceded the fact that Liverpool deserved little more from Sunday's painstaking loss to Aston Villa in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

The Reds were looking to secure a final against Arsenal under the Wembley arch next month and set themselves up well on the half-hour when Philippe Coutinho pounced on defensive errors to gift Rodgers' side the lead.

But Liverpool were punished for a lacklustre performance, Christian Benteke finishing off an excellent team move to level the scores six minutes after Coutinho's effort - before the fantastic Fabian Delph sealed the win with a second-half effort.

Rodgers could not hide his disappointment after the full-time whistle, questioning whether his "second best" side let the occasion get to their heads.

"As you can imagine, we're bitterly disappointed, but more with the performance (than the result)," admitted the Liverpool boss.

"You can always lose a game, but you would hope you can play well and give yourself an opportunity in the game.

"And I thought we were second best today, if I'm honest. We didn't play well enough, and Villa were better than us.

"Technically, we were off. It looked as if maybe the occasion and the energy got to us a bit. Sometimes that can happen.

"It has happened a number of times. I think sometimes you can want to win too much, and the focus comes away from what allows you to win.

"We're a team that in the last couple of years has shown great energy and belief, but I thought our energy was low in the game today.

"Aston Villa had a good start to the game, but we were far too passive. We changed the system, got some joy and started to control a bit more, but we didn't keep the lead long enough. We were too passive in the centre of the field, and Fabian Delph skips through way too easy.

"Second half, we hoped to play better, but we just didn't create enough."

Rodgers side were meek throughout the 90 minutes, allowing a relegation-threatened Tim Sherwood side boss them around the park.

But whilst the performance level was well below-par, the Northern Irishman insists it was not an issue of lacking mentality for the big game.

"We've come up short in a few games, so it's something we certainly need to improve," he said, speaking to reporters after the game.

"The players have it (big-game mentality). You've just got to be consistent with it. The ability to control a game under pressure is important.

"But I think all these experiences will make the players better. We're a team that's growing, and has changed a lot in the summer. These experiences will hopefully help their development.

"It was a trademark of the team last year, the way we started games with intent and intensity. Obviously, that hasn't been the case this year.

"Listen, the players have given absolutely everything. We just didn't play well enough today, and congratulations to Aston Villa. The better team won."

Liverpool's season now looks to be petering out into nothingness, after Rodgers admitted the difficulty of Liverpool finishing inside the top-four makes it likely the Reds will end the 2014-15 campaign on a low note.

But the Northern Irishman insists his side will look to rectify recent lows by finishing the season strongly in their final six games.

"Theres' an obligation here to fight to the very end," he continued. "We've come close now in two competitions, and failed to make the final steps, so hopefully in future we can learn from that.

"We have to fight in every single game now. Of course there will be disappointment in the next couple of days, but we have to get ready for our next league game.

"This season has been a mixture really. The start of the season was not so good, and there were various reasons behind that. Then we picked up and were playing very well, with a good flow to our play.

"But then there's been a block of maybe six games where the performance level has not been what we would like, and that's disappointing."

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.