The Reds led their Bulgarian opponents for most of the Champions League encounter before a late concession but would have needed to beat Basel in their final game either way

Brendan Rodgers says Liverpool’s last-gasp slip to a draw with Ludogorets in the Champions League is “irrelevant”, insisting he is satisfied with their performance overall.

A last-gasp Georgi Terziev leveller meant that the Reds suffered the ignominy of being held by their low-ranked opponents in the Group B contest.

Yet Rodgers, who saw goals from Rickie Lambert and Jordan Henderson put the visitors ahead after Dani Abalo had capitalised on Simon Mignolet’s error to give Ludogorets a third-minute lead, was unperturbed.

The setback did not change the fact that Liverpool can reach the last 16 by overcoming Basel at home in matchday six – something from which he took heart.

Rodgers told Sky Sports: “To go a goal behind in this competition so early, you need a team that is together and has spirit.

“We are disappointed with the goal at the end but it’s irrelevant now. We need to win against Basel anyway and we looked at that game at the start of the tournament as the crucial one.”

Liverpool headed into the match on the back of a four-game losing run and, far from being frustrated by seeing his side fail to win again, Rodgers praised their fighting spirit.

He added: “I was worried when we went behind and it was a poor goal to give away but we showed wonderful resilience and kept our focus.”

Rodgers withdrew Raheem Sterling, who had just missed a glorious chance to make it 3-1, late in the game, explaining that it was due to illness.

“He had a bad stomach and was buckled over in pain for six or seven minutes,” the Northern Irishman revealed.

Simon Mignolet’s error gave the Bulgarians an early lead before Rickie Lambert and Jordan Henderson turned it around but a late equaliser denied the Reds a morale-boosting win

Liverpool’s hopes of Champions League qualification remain alive but a late goal denied them a win over Ludogorets, the final score 2-2.

The Bulgarian side took a shock lead in just the third minute when a disastrous Simon Mignolet error allowed Dani Abalo to pounce and score but Rickie Lambert took advantage of some similarly dreadful home defending to equalise only five minutes later for his first European goal.

Raheem Sterling then broke free to cross for Jordan Henderson to give the Reds the lead before half-time but Brendan Rodgers’s side switched off at the death when Georgi Terziev scored from a corner.

Liverpool now need to beat Basel in their final group game if they are to reach the knockout stages.

More to follow…

The Reds boss has insisted the club are focused on matches, not future players, and is hoping his side can start to reverse their fortunes with a win at Ludogorets

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says he is not keeping a lookout for winter transfer recruits despite a poor start to the season.

The Reds are currently 12th in the Premier League table, just four points off the relegation places and have lost their last four games in a row.

Rodgers spent heavily in the summer, following the departure of Luis Suarez, bringing in players such as Mario Balotelli, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren but has played down any further arrivals.

“It [buying new players] is not something I am looking at,” he told reporters. “After the weekend, the focus was not to dwell on that. We have to learn from that and try and get a result here [Ludogorets].”

Liverpool face Ludogorets in the Champions League on Wednesday needing a win to boost their qualification hopes and Rodgers is hoping his side can begin to turn their season around.

“Sometimes it just takes a game, an action to change a season for you,” he added. “We have to believe that can happen. We haven’t been anywhere near our levels. But you can never give up.

“We have to believe that the honesty of the group will get us the results and that is what we will keep working towards.

“I just need to get us back to a level of confidence that allows you to perform. Losing can be the making of you. You learn from it. That is what we are aiming to do.

“When you don’t have so much coaching time, it is mostly psychological what you are trying to achieve. If we focus on that too much there is no way we could play to our level.

“We need to make sure the training ground is a happy place to be. We have lost more than we would have liked. But the next game is an opportunity. You try to affect the players in a positive way.”