LONDON • Mauricio Pochettino became the latest Premier League manager to criticise Jurgen Klopp's touchline conduct after Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 loss at Anfield on Tuesday.
Liverpool progressed to the quarter-finals of the League Cup thanks to two goals from Daniel Sturridge.
Pochettino was happy with the performance of his team, who had 10 changes from the one who drew away with Bournemouth last Saturday .
But the Spurs manager was not so happy about Klopp's behaviour on the touchline nor the conduct of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was making his debut.
The 18-year-old was shown a yellow card for a late tackle on Ben Davies in the first half, but Pochettino felt the Liverpool right-back should have been sent off.
"The full-back Arnold should be sent off," Pochettino said of the challenge in which Alexander-Arnold went over the top of the ball and knocked Davies off his feet.
Given the risky nature of the tackle, Pochettino found it hard to stomach the complaints from the Liverpool bench late in the match when Spurs were piling on the pressure after Vincent Janssen had pulled a goal back from the penalty spot.
According to Pochettino, Klopp and his staff went over the top in their reaction to two challenges late in the second half, one from Harry Winks on Danny Ings and the other at the opposite end of the pitch when Erik Lamela hit the turf in the Liverpool box after contact from Lucas Leiva, who had already fouled Lamela for Tottenham's penalty in the 76th minute.
"I think it was strange that at the end of the game they started to complain," Pochettino said. "It was strange when their bench started to complain with another bench. It is the referee's authority to say if it was a penalty or not. It was strange. They complained about a normal game. And maybe yes, they were lucky to finish with 11 men."
Pochettino is not the first manager to criticise Klopp over his touchline conduct. Two weeks ago, Jose Mourinho, the Manchester United manager, made it clear that he felt the German was far too theatrical on the sidelines.
"I'm on the touchline to try to coach," Mourinho said before waving his arms, mimicking Klopp, adding: "I'm not on the touchline. . . (doing this)."
Klopp felt referee Jon Moss made the right call with regard to Lucas' second challenge on Lamela.
"I thought it was not a penalty but I have to see it again," the Liverpool manager said.
Klopp was proud of the performance from his youthful team, which contained 11 changes from the side who drew with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
"We deserved the win," he said. "The football was exciting. We created a wonderful atmosphere and no one could leave early."
Alexander-Arnold, his foul on Davies apart, performed well on his debut and 23-year-old midfielder Kevin Stewart also showed signs of promise.
"They were really good," Klopp said of his youngsters. "Trent had a wonderful start in the game, Ovie (Ejaria) too. They can play better, but with all the pressure around and the completely new circumstances, it was really good."
THE TIMES, LONDON, THE GUARDIAN
