LONDON • James Milner's 95th-minute penalty maintained Liverpool's perfect start to the Premier League season, but Saturday's 2-1 victory over Leicester came at a cost, with Mohamed Salah limping off injured as a result of Hamza Choudhury's lunge.

"It's a challenge which I really don't understand," said Reds manager Jurgen Klopp, who also insisted the Foxes midfielder should have been sent off rather than just be shown a yellow card. "He is a player who is at full sprint, to bring him down without the ball around, for me, it is only one colour.

"I don't want to cause the boy any problems, but he has to calm down in situations like that. It's not the first time. He has to calm down.

"He's a super player, super development in the last one or two years at Leicester, but these kinds of challenges, no. I don't know how that can not be red."

Pundits argued over Choudhury's tackle, with Andy Gray insisting on beIN Sports it was "not worthy of a sending off" while former Chelsea manager Roberto diMatteo claimed there had been "excessive force".

Leicester yesterday announced they had made a police report over racial abuse targeting the former England Under-21 international, who is of both Caribbean and Bangladeshi descent.

A Leicester spokesman said: "We are appalled by these comments, which the club has reported to the police and to the social-media platform on which they were made.

"Discriminatory behaviour has no place in football or in society and we will seek the strongest possible course of action to be taken against those responsible."

It was another twist in a dramatic game in which James Maddison's 80th-minute equaliser looked like it would be enough to see Liverpool drop a league point for the first time since March. But, in extra time, Marc Albrighton rashly tripped Sadio Mane and, after a routine check by the video assistant referee, Milner calmly converted the spot kick.

The drama did not end there as after the final whistle, there were angry scenes with players from both sides squaring up, including a heated exchange between Leicester forward Ayoze Perez and Reds defender Andy Robertson.

It was a frantic conclusion to the proceedings for Brendan Rodgers, who was making his return to Anfield for the first time since being sacked by Liverpool four years ago.

While Leicester showed why they will post a strong challenge to finish in the top four this season, they do not have a difference-maker like Mane, whom Klopp praised as "an absolutely exceptional player".

Of the Senegal forward, who will be in Singapore as the Teranga Lions take on Brazil in a friendly at the National Stadium on Thursday, the German said: "Even though he is obviously not in good shape at the moment, he was still there in a really tough game."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE