Jurgen Klopp gives brutal verdict on Jeremy Doku’s ‘karate kick’ challenge… after asking Sky Sports reporter his opinion on Liverpool’s penalty shout!
Jurgen Klopp said he will ‘never forget’ Liverpool’s performance against Manchester City after the teams played out a thrilling 1-1 draw. But the German was furious that the Reds were denied a final penalty when Jeremy Doku collided with Alexis Mac Allister.
City took the lead in a dominant first half through John Stones, but Liverpool equalized not long after half-time when Mac Allister converted a penalty.
Klopp called the subsequent attacking performance one of the best of his coaching career.
Both teams had chances to win the match, but Klopp was stunned when his team were not awarded another penalty in the final seconds when City’s Belgian winger Doku caught Mac Allister with a high boot in the penalty area.
“Would you have given a penalty in that situation,” Klopp asked Sky Sports reporter Patrick Davidson in a bizarre role reversal, who replied: “I’m not surprised VAR hasn’t overturned it, because of the high bar for the away game. ‘ -field official who does not want to referee the match again.
Jurgen Klopp spoke to referee Michael Oliver about his decision not to award a penalty
Man City winger Jeremy Doku’s high tackle on Alexis Mac Allister was not given as a penalty
Klopp hit back, saying: ‘This situation in all positions on the pitch is 100 percent a foul and it is a yellow card. (Doku) hit the ball, but he could only hit the ball because his foot was there. If the ball isn’t there, he kills it!
‘It’s that simple. You’ll find people – you employ Mike Dean, he works for Sky? Congratulations, that’s a great appointment by the way, he’ll find something. It is a punishment for all football people on this planet.’
The manager later added: ‘Why would the guy in the (VAR) studio think this isn’t clear and obvious? What should you eat for lunch if it is not clear and obvious to you? I’m really not angry, it’s just the situation. It is well. I’m so happy with the way we played today.
‘The result is only one thing. And if we win today, what will we be, four points ahead of City? That’s not a distance at which you should fall asleep. And maybe two points ahead of Arsenal. The way they (both) play, they won’t stop.
‘For us, after all the different ways we have found, not always great performances, but only the most intense battles, it is important to get the result, like against Nottingham Forest, that we can also play like that. That’s the information we need so we can create something like this today.
“Our injury situation is still terrible. There are a lot of players not available, it’s crazy. If we had only played the players who were not available today, that would have been a good team. But for once I’m not complaining. I’m just mentioning it.
‘Today I saw the best 53 minutes we had against Manchester City. It was exceptional how we played, and important that we also learned that about ourselves. When you play football like that against City, it’s a statement… and I like that. You get a point for it, great, keep it up.
‘I have wonderful memories of these kinds of things, I will never forget them now. Whoever plays against Manchester City in the future, I think: ‘Yes, we did a little better’. Forget the referee, I’m here to talk about football.
Mac Allister equalized for Liverpool with a penalty for the hosts, but was denied a penalty for Doku’s late challenge
‘We showed that we are ready to fight as long as the race lasts and that is what I like most. Arsenal are firing on all cylinders, City is City. So for us it’s probably a bit of, “How did we get through that?”, that we’re still here.”
After the fascinating match, Klopp joked that he is looking forward to life on the other side when he can watch these matches from the stands. Asked if the game would tempt him to change his mind if he left, he added: ‘No, no, I obviously didn’t explain it well enough!
‘I will miss these things, of course, but I miss my whole life. What kind of man would I be if I said I didn’t like that? When I was watching the game in the stands I saw my missus after the game and she was buzzing so it must be good to watch. That’s nice, maybe that will be my role from now on!’