Sadio is no diver, says Klopp
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp said it was baffling that the Premier League champions were not awarded a penalty in Monday's 1-0 loss at Southampton and claimed other teams would not have been denied by the officials.
Liverpool fell behind to a second-minute lob by former striker Danny Ings and had a penalty claim dismissed when Georginio Wijnaldum's shot from inside the box was blocked by the hand of Jack Stephens.
The league leaders were left frustrated again when Kyle Walker-Peters went unpunished after bringing down Sadio Mane in the penalty area.
“The best situations we had were with Sadio having the ball at his feet,” Klopp told Sky Sports. “For anyone to say he's a diver is the biggest joke ... He had two situations where other teams would get a penalty.
“The handball, I don't know who will explain that to me. In these situations we were unfortunate ... I hear Manchester United had more penalties in two years than I had in five and a half years. I have no idea if that's my fault, or how that can happen.
“But it's no excuse for the performance.
“We cannot change it, we have to respect the decisions. We can change our performance. That's our focus now.”
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said the club had forgotten how to play in the final minutes of games after going three league matches without a win.
“I didn't see that coming, I expected a reaction on the back of two poor performances. We've just seen another one,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
“Liverpool's away form this season is so poor ... That's a big worry, in terms of what they're creating away from home. It's nowhere near enough.”
Liverpool face Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round on Friday before a league clash against United on January 17.
Meanwhile Southampton coach Ralph Hasenhuttl shed tears of joy and collapsed to his knees at the final whistle.
The Austrian's emotional celebrations might have led some fans to think that Southampton had just secured the Premier League title.
But as wins over Liverpool are a rare occurrence for the Saints, with the last one coming in the league almost five years ago, it was an occasion to savour for Hasenhuttl who took charge of the south-coast club in 2018.
“There were tears in my eyes – because of the wind!” Hasenhuttl jokingly told BBC Sport.
“When you see our guys fighting with everything they have, it makes me really proud. You need to have the perfect game against Liverpool and I think we did have that.”
Hasenhuttl's team were forced to defend for long periods in the second half, and he admitted that it was deep into stoppage time before he felt that his side could get a result.
“It felt like we were under massive pressure and the defending around the box was the key today – then still try and play football. We did it in a good way,” he said. |