Jürgen Klopp admitted that injuries to two of his key players overshadowed an otherwise excellent performance after Liverpool's 1-0 win over Stoke City in the first-leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final.

The German spoke of being angry after their loss to West Ham in the league at the weekend but came away filled with pride after a gutsy performance and Jordon Ibe's first-half strike off the bench saw them take an advantage into the second-leg at Anfield on January 26.

But despite all the positives from Tuesday night's victory at the Britannia Stadium, Klopp also admitted he was frustrated with injuries that forced him into two early substitutions as Dejan Lovren and Philippe Coutinho both succumbed to hamstring injuries.

Kolo Touré also appeared to be clutching his hamstring in the late stages of the game but the manager is confident that the Ivorian's problem was merely a knock.

"Semi-final is not decided despite 1-0 lead"

Asked whether he was pleased with his side's performance in his post-match address to the media, Klopp said that if his side had have "scored one or two goals more then maybe [it would have been perfect]." 

But the Reds boss explained that "in this part of the season" and "after the last game" it is "always easy to criticise things" and say "we have to make this better or make that better."

However, Klopp concluded that "as a football game" and considering "our start, how we continued, how we stood in the game and how we defended first the playing build-up of Stoke, then the long balls." He also praised his defence for "how smart" they were with their "pressing, coming out and moving" and hailed their efforts as "really good."

But the boss admitted he could not escape a "big, big shadow" over the game with the two early injuries to Coutinho and Lovren. He admitted that, at the time, he didn't know "how serious they are" but acknowledged that they "did not look too good."

And he also warned that despite the promising victory giving them a welcome lead ahead of the second-leg that "nothing is decided in the first-leg" at "1-0, or even 2-0."

Klopp added that the Reds will "have to see what we can do after this game" about their injury situation, saying that it is "a little bit of a strange feeling" after the game, saying it's "very, very good" on one side because of the win and the fact the players "fought brilliantly."

He continued that he was "proud" of his team's performance because of how "the reaction was great" and "it was such a difficult game in all parts" only a few days after he was "really angry" with his team's display at West Ham - but also said two injuries is "not good."

Klopp hopeful Toure's injury isn't serious

Though uncertain about the extent of Coutinho and Lovren's issues, he speculated that Toure's injury was only cramp and should see him available for Friday night's trip to Exeter City in the FA Cup third round.

The 34-year-old, who produced a superbly committed performance in central defence, is currently the only fit centre-back available to Klopp after Mamadou Sakho was ruled out of the trip to Stoke with a knee injury sustained against Sunderland last week.

On Toure's display, he hailed him as "perfect" and highlighted the instance in which he blocked an incoming cross just a few minutes before sustaining cramp, calling it the "best situation" he showed in the game.

He praised the experienced defender for his "outstanding" performance and said how he was "really good" for Liverpool, but insisted they must wait to see "if he can play the next game."