"I don't know why I wasn't playing well," Mascherano told official publication LFC Magazine.
"Perhaps it was because I went to the Olympics and missed a lot of pre-season training.
"Then when I came back I didn't have much time to rest as we had important games every few days.
"However, I knew that would be the case and I'm not complaining about it.
"I just continued to work hard every day in training. I think in the last two months I have been getting better and should be back to my best soon."