Jurgen Klopp fumes over decisions as nine-man Liverpool lose 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur
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Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he was proud of his team’s backs-to-the-wall performance which almost delivered a point in extraordinary circumstances.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was exasperated as his side lost 2-1 to a last-gasp Joel Matip own goal
Colombian Diaz struck just past the half-hour mark in the English Premier League clash on Saturday, after Liverpool had been reduced to 10 men, when Curtis Jones was sent off for a challenge on Yves Bissouma following a video assistant referee (VAR) intervention that Klopp thought was harsh.
Substitute Diogo Jota was also dismissed late in the second half after two yellow cards, but Klopp thought the first should never have been awarded for a foul on Destiny Udogie as the left-back seemed to trip himself up.
“The (Diaz) offside goal. That’s not offside when you see it. They drew their lines wrong. The ball’s between Mo’s (Mohamed Salah’s) legs. They... didn’t judge the moment when Mo passed the ball right. It’s so tough to deal with it,” said Klopp.
“We scored an own goal, that’s really tough to take... The first red card, Curtis steps on the ball and goes over. Not a bad tackle. It looks different in slow motion. He steps full throttle on the ball and goes over the ball. That’s unlucky.
“(Jota’s) first yellow was not a yellow. Then he gets a second, and to defend with eight outfield players is tricky.”
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, said he is not a fan of VAR
He said: “I think I’m on record saying that I’ve never really been a fan of it since it came in. Not for any other reason than that it complicates areas of the game that I thought were pretty clear in the past, but I can see at the same time why it was inevitable that technology would come in. We have to deal with it.
“The game is littered with historical refereeing decisions that weren’t right, but we all accepted that it was part of the game because we’re dealing with human beings.
“People are under the misconception that VAR is going to be without errors. I don’t think there’s any technology because so much of our game isn’t factual. It’s down to interpretation, and they’re still human beings. When you put such a high bar on something, it invariably is going to fail, so if people are thinking that VAR is going to be something that at some point that is perfect, that’s never going to happen.”
Despite the nature of the defeat, Klopp said he was proud of his team’s backs-to-the-wall performance which almost delivered a point in extraordinary circumstances against a high-flying Spurs side who are making a habit of snatching late home wins.
“You want to build something you need players with mentality and I saw them today, they fought. Pretty special tonight,” added Klopp, whose side last tasted defeat by Tottenham in 2017 and had lost once to them in their previous 21 league games.
The referees body, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), later issued a statement blaming “significant human error” for the goal being disallowed and replaced the officials involved.
In a statement on Sunday, the PGMOL said: “Darren England, VAR on the Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool fixture, and Dan Cook, (assistant VAR) on the same game, have been replaced for the Nottingham Forest v Brentford and Fulham v Chelsea matches. Craig Pawson will now assume England’s duties as fourth official at the City Ground while Eddie Smart will take over from Cook as assistant referee at Craven Cottage.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told the BBC: “The VAR should be absolutely clear and obvious with everything they’re deciding on. I’ve seen the still back, I think on live TV there were no lines being shown. It’s all a bit strange...
“If you look at the fight we showed, the defending we did, the togetherness – it was good to see. The manager has told us in the dressing room and for me as a captain it’s good to see everyone working so hard and fighting for each other. To concede an own goal in the last minutes of the game is cruel.”
Son Heung-min opened the scoring for Spurs on 36 minutes, but Cody Gakpo equalised for the Reds in first-half added time, before Tottenham got their win via the 96th-minute own goal.
The result took Spurs up to second, a point off Manchester City, while Liverpool are a further point back in fourth. REUTERS
