Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, strongly believed that his team deserved a penalty in the last moments of their 1-1 draw against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
Following an equalizing penalty by Alexis Mac Allister, Liverpool exerted significant control over the second half, providing City’s players and manager Pep Guardiola with much food for thought. The city was leading 1-0 at half-time following John Stones’ successful execution of a cleverly devised corner routine.
Liverpool, who were motivated by Mac Allister’s equalizer in the 50th minute, were eager to take advantage of the situation as the game approached eight minutes of added time. They strongly believed that they should have been given a second penalty towards the end of the match. Jeremy Doku seemingly made contact with Mac Allister’s chest, prompting VAR Stuart Atwell to thoroughly review the call, despite on-field referee Michael Oliver dismissing the home team’s objections.
There is a suggestion that Doku was deemed to have contested the ball from a “reasonable” posture. Klopp and all Liverpool supporters at Anfield were firm in their belief that a penalty should be given. Even Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville acknowledged that he thought the judgment would favor Liverpool.
Nevertheless, Atwell upheld Oliver’s decision made during the game, resulting in a tied outcome for the competition. Klopp was visibly agitated by the decision, vehemently criticizing it after the game.
“According to Klopp, it was unequivocally a penalty,” stated Klopp in an interview with BBC Sport. “They will discover a rationale.” The foul committed was unequivocally evident in all parts of the field and most likely warranted a yellow card.
“The individuals in my vicinity who possessed iPads were impressed by the clarity.” Perhaps they can take refuge in the expression “it is ambiguous and obscure.”
“Although it was clearly a penalty, we did not receive it and that is acceptable.” My top priority is the ability to play football in that manner. I witnessed some outstanding performances today.
