Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has slammed referees following his side’s 2-0 win at Burnley, labelling one decision which went against his team as “insane”.
Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League table on Tuesday as they secured three points at Turf Moor, thanks to goals from Klopp’s “perfect goalscorers” Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.
However, Klopp was unhappy at a VAR call to disallow Harvey Elliot’s goal, with Mohamed Salah adjudged to be standing in an offside position.
Klopp furious with Harvey Elliot’s disallowed goal
In the 55th minute, Elliott exchanged passes with midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and struck a finish off the right-hand post. But a VAR review by referee Paul Tierney judged that Salah’s offside position was blocking the view of Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford.
“Only somebody who has never played football can make this an offside. It’s insane when you see that. Why do referees create their own view on something?
“We all watch football and need the referee but we need them to make the right interpretations of the rules. It’s like, wow. Handball is sometimes handball and all these kinds of things,” Klopp said in a post-match interview.
Jurgen Klopp on Harvey Elliott’s disallowed goal:
“Only somebody who never played football could make this an offside decision.”
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) December 26, 2023
Speaking further about the Reds’ performance against Burnley, Klopp said that he liked the way his side played but it was clear that they should have “scored more”.
After being out of action for a month due to muscle injury, Jota returned to action against Burnley and scored a “super goal”. It was a great performance even though the Portuguese forward trained only twice ahead of the game in Lancashire. The medical team wanted Jota to have an extra training session and they said he could have that in Burnley after coming off the bench.
“Now he can train tomorrow properly and then he will be ready for Newcastle, which is really helpful. Two-nil, no injuries, all good. It’s wonderful,” said Klopp before adding Wataru Endo was another player who was a Man of the Match candidate as he had a phenomenal game.
Klopp: Nunez is an incredible finisher
Nunez, who returned to the starting XI after starting the previous game against Arsenal from the bench, finally ended his goal drought of 12 games. He opened the scoring at Turf Moor in the Boxing Day fixture.
Cody Gakpo, who was making his 50th Reds appearance, broke into space along the left and passed the ball back to Nunez. The Uruguayan striker skillfully opened up his body and curled a low finish into the bottom right corner from 20 yards.
“[Darwin Nunez] is an incredible finisher but if a striker doesn’t score, the whole system is not the same. You question everything. It’s not just the outside world, but you question everything. But it was just in the moment and he has it so it’s all good,” added Klopp.
After Liverpool were held at a 1-1 draw by Arsenal at Anfield, Klopp made five changes going into the Burnley match. Centre-back Ibrahima Konate, who was one of the best players for the Reds against the Gunners, was rested and put on the bench. Klopp picked young Jarell Quansah to partner Virgil van Dijk in the centre of their defence.
Quansah produced yet another impressive performance and received praise from his skipper Van Dijk. The Dutch defender said that Quansah “is up and coming and from the moment he had his chance in his debut away at Newcastle he’s been improving”.
Liverpool have 42 points from 19 matches and are two points clear of second-placed Arsenal. But Mikel Arteta’s side has a game in hand. Arsenal can reclaim the top spot if they beat West Ham on Thursday at Emirates Stadium.
Klopp and Co do not play again this year as their next game is on Jan. 1 against Newcastle United at Anfield.
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