Jurgen Klopp has had a brilliant dig at Manchester United, using potential mind games to his advantage.
Liverpool lost 1-0 away to Southampton on Monday evening, following another limp performance.
It means the Premier League champions haven’t won in their last three games, as their title hopes take a hit.
Liverpool may have been poor at St Mary’s, but yet again, refereeing decisions didn’t go their way.
Speaking after the game, Klopp had a swipe at United, such is the ease at which they get given penalties:
Klopp: "What Andre Marriner did with Sadio Mane tonight, I'm not sure that's okay. Man United had more penalties in two years than me in five and a half years…. but no excuses for tonight."
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) January 4, 2021
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This is precisely the sort of tactic Alex Ferguson used during his days as United manager, throwing in subtle comments that could get into the sub-conscious of officials.
He did exactly that back in 1996, getting under then Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan’s skin by suggesting Leeds United would try harder against his side than the Magpies.
The Liverpool manager also has a genuine point, however, with Kyle Walker-Peters’ foul on Sadio Mane somehow not being overturned by VAR, when Paul Pogba won a softer spot-kick against Aston Villa last week.
As Klopp alludes to, United have won a staggering 42 penalties under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since December 2018 – more than Klopp since October 2015 – which sums it up.
While bias clearly exists in every football fan, there does genuinely seem to be some sort of concerted effort to rob the Reds this season, strange though that may seem. Everton and Brighton away in stoppage time are perfect examples.
It will be interesting to see if Klopp’s comments end up changing that, given his dominance as a character.
