It’s fair to say that Liverpool did not enjoy Monday night's match against West Ham.
Going 1-0 up after 22 minutes through Sadio Mané, Liverpool struggled to clinch an important victory in the Premier League title race. Michail Antonio scored just six minutes later, and Liverpool could not respond.
West Ham on the other hand, should be happy the performance against Liverpool was a lot better than in recent matches and against the league leaders no less. West Ham’s manager, Manuel Pellegrini, was less than impressed with Liverpool’s goal and with Jurgen Klopp.
BREAKING:
Liverpool dressing room monitor proves their goal wasnt offside pic.twitter.com/mUccVE641f— S(@stu_a_rt) February 4, 2019
The build-up to Liverpool’s goal was offside and was missed by the referees. James Milner, clearly in an offside position, received a well-worked pass from Adam Lallana. Milner promptly assisted Mané after Lallana’s pass. Still, the flag stayed down and the goal stood.
Fixed pic.twitter.com/gCz0yCewbI
— Sonny Daze (@natecancook) February 4, 2019
There was an opportunity in the final minute of the match for Liverpool to leave London with all three points, with Divock Origi also offside, which the linesman did not flag. Luckily for West Ham, Origi’s effort was poor, and Fabianski collected the ball. Needless to say, the internet and the soccer world would’ve gone into meltdown if Origi’s chance went in.
Divock Origi had the chance to win the game for Liverpool with the last kick of the game...
Andy Gray and @richardajkeys can't believe that once again the assistant referee didn't spot he was offside.#beINPL pic.twitter.com/eVwi75Vgm5— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) February 4, 2019
After the match Manuel Pellegrini looked very frustrated with Jurgen Klopp. During the usual handshake between managers, Pellegrini looked to be explaining his case for Liverpool’s offside goal.
In Klopp’s post-match interview, he said: “As a human being, if I know I have made a big mistake in the first half, I don't want to open the gap any more. ... Referees are obviously human beings, and I understand that, but I didn't during the game because I had no clue that our goal was offside."
Pellegrini had a different view, saying: "Klopp is used to winning with offside goals. He beat me against Malaga with a goal seven meters offside — so he cannot complain about anything."
Ouch.
Regardless of whether or not you believe that third goal in Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League win against Malaga was offside, it’s clear that offside calls in this matchup between Pellegrini and Klopp were missed.
A referee conspiracy to help Liverpool win the title? Unlikely. Poor officiating? Definitely.
It’s hard to blame Pellegrini for his blunt words toward the Liverpool manager, and there’s little excuse to make after a series of dropped points. Liverpool is now just three points clear of Manchester City. While it doesn’t seem like Liverpool or City will drop points soon given both teams’ next matches, Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp have some work to do.
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