Mark Hughes insists Simon Mignolet should have seen red for Liverpool

By Gerard Brand

Wednesday 29 November 2017 23:56, UK

Mark Hughes insists Simon Mignolet should have seen red in Stoke's 3-0 defeat by Liverpool on Wednesday.

Mo Salah (2) and Sadio Mane secured the win for Liverpool, but Hughes was upset with the incident when Liverpool were 1-0 up in the first half.

After rushing out of his box for a 50/50 with Mame Biram Diouf, Mignolet caught him without playing the ball, but referee Martin Atkinson showed a booking, despite the fact Diouf was denied a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Hughes said Stoke could have got back into the game if Liverpool were reduced to 10 men, and feels referee Atkinson got the decision wrong.

"The key moment in the game from our point of view," Hughes told Sky Sports. "Diouf has nicked the ball and the 'keeper has wiped him out and should have been sent off clearly.

"At that point if we had got that, even if we had scored and they had remained at 11, we still would have been back in the game. That was a huge moment for us.

"The least we should have had was a clear run on goal and in my view the 'keeper should have been sent off and they should have been down to 10 men.

"Given the way we were playing at the point, I think we would have gone on to make it really difficult for them. As it was we were constantly chasing the game."

Stoke were in the game until Salah's arrival late on, and Hughes feels the scoreline was harsh on his side, given their efforts.

"We stuck at it, we had a couple of really good chances," said Hughes. "Joe Allen had a couple of chances and if we had scored one of those it becomes a different game but they have a very strong bench and they were able to call on quite a bit of talent.

"3-0 is a little bit harsh on us, we don't think we deserved that but we have a big game on the weekend and we'll need to face that in similar terms, in terms of our effort and our determination to get something out of it.

Stoke face Swansea at home on Saturday, and Hughes admits his side need to get back to winning ways.

"I think at the weekend you'll see similar qualities but from our point of view hopefully a different result.

"We have to look ahead to the weekend to get back to winning ways. We have been playing three at the back and at times that has allowed the opposition to hide the ball from you.

"We were better for the change, we had more energy, they (Liverpool) found it more uncomfortable, so at the weekend we have to look at that and see what we have to do at home to put more pressure on teams."