Jurgen Klopp: West Ham's opener shouldn't have stood and Aaron Cresswell should have seen red in Liverpool defeat
Liverpool's 25-game unbeaten run was ended in a thrilling encounter at The London Stadium; Jurgen Klopp thought Alisson was fouled for West Ham's opener, and felt Aaron Cresswell should have seen red; Jamie Carragher agrees on Cresswell, but not Alisson
Monday 8 November 2021 12:15, UK
Jurgen Klopp feels the officials got two major decisions wrong during Liverpool's 3-2 defeat by West Ham on Super Sunday.
Liverpool's 25-game unbeaten run was ended in a thrilling encounter at The London Stadium.
West Ham took the lead with their first attack as Pablo Fornals' corner skimmed off the glove of Alisson and into the net in the fourth minute, going down as an own goal despite a VAR check for a potential foul.
No foul was given, but Klopp believes Angelo Ogbonna should have been penalised, before Aaron Cresswell escaped any punishment despite a high tackle on Jordan Henderson moments later.
After the game, Klopp hit out at the decisions.
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"The first goal is a foul on the goalie," he told Sky Sports. "The arm goes against Alisson's arm so how can he catch the ball when someone pulls his arm away. It makes no sense. It's the typical excuse that VAR says it's not clear and obvious but then what do you need?
"What can [Alisson] do? That's why the goalie is protected in moments. If a player goes up with his arm for a goalie that's an important position of the body and if that's in the way how can he make a save?
"People will say I'm looking for excuses, I'm not. I accept we're not too good to lose football games. Today we lost it, that's not nice but I accept it. But when we speak about situations in a game you just need normal decisions from a referee. He didn't do that.
"Cresswell? For me it's a reckless challenge. Even though he touches the ball, you can't go in like that as anything can happen. You can say he touched the ball but you have to control your body.
"Those two situations were influential in the game but in the end West Ham fought for the three points. They are not responsible for the decisions the VAR made."
He added in the post-match press conference: "It's a clear foul on Alisson, how can it not be? The arm from Ogbonna is there. I don't know who is VAR today.
"The ref made it easy for himself, and said let's see what the VAR said, they said it's not clear and obvious. It was really strange."
On the Cresswell challenge, Klopp added: "The way I saw it it's a clear red card. There's actually no discussion possible. They will say because he touched the ball, but a reckless challenge you can touch whatever you want before. If you hit your opponent high up the leg, on the chin, you cannot go like this in a challenge. That's it. But we cannot make these decisions."
Carra on Alisson: No foul
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher:
"I didn't think it was a foul. It's one of them where if you are a manager and it goes against you, you will say it's a foul. And when it's gone your way, you'll say it's not a foul. It's a fair challenge by Ogbonna.
"Your arms are going to come up a little bit. The delivery is fantastic. Alisson just misses it. Ogbonna is well within his rights to make a challenge for the ball. Alisson jumps and his left hand doesn't connect - that's why it's an own-goal."
Carra on Cresswell: It's a red card
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher:
"As soon as I saw the challenge I thought West Ham and Cresswell had got a problem when VAR look at it. We've spoken about a higher threshold in certain situations - but not for this one. That's a tackle from my day. A tackle where you win the ball and you follow through. Cresswell was out of control and endangering the opponent. It's a red card.
"The force was in the initial challenge. I can only think VAR have deemed that he hasn't caught him hard enough, with the meat of his boot. But the force is certainly there.
What's next?
West Ham go to Wolves after the international fortnight at 3pm on Saturday November 20, while Liverpool host Arsenal on Saturday Night Football on November 20, live on Sky Sports Premier League.
