Posted by Jurgen Klopp, manager of Liverpool, gushed about Sunday’s nail-biting 1-1 Premier League tie with Manchester City, describing it as the finest performance by his team against the defending champions.
But Klopp was certain his side had a penalty taken away from them in the match.
Liverpool earned a point away against Pep Guardiola’s squad at Anfield thanks to a penalty kick by Alexis Mac Allister in the second half; as a result, Arsenal remained in first place in the title battle.
With a point separating the top three teams, Liverpool is in second place on goal differential and Man City is in third.
However, Jeremy Doku challenged Mac Allister in the box just before the final whistle, and the Argentine’s boot caught his chest. Liverpool screamed for a penalty, but it was not given.
To the press, Klopp said, “Hits him on the chest” after the game.
“Has he ever touched the ball before? Yes. Does it matter where you are on the field if your leg is that high?
Klopp gestures to his chest and says, “You can kick the ball before, and after that the foot is here, and you go off.”
The match officials were in disagreement, and after reviewing the verdict, the VAR did not instruct the referee to take a second look.
The man in the VAR studio shouldn’t have thought, “Ah, that is not clear and obvious.” What on earth did you eat for lunch if you can’t see the obviousness in that?”
Even if it hurt Liverpool’s league title chances, Klopp said he had moved past the controversial event.
I just don’t care anymore; I’ve moved on from it, and now I have to talk about it all the time. Sure, we’d love to have it, but my words won’t alter a thing (or so I’ve learnt).
I really regret not taking advantage of one of the enormous opportunities we presented. We are present, though, and that is the most crucial piece of knowledge.
So, we keep going. The boys battled so hard for everything to be there; now we’ll see what we receive in return.