Scott Parker responds to question on how to beat Liverpool
Liverpool’s recent defeat to Brentford was dominated by penalty controversy
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has shared his opinion on two penalty claims which helped shape the game during Liverpool’s costly 3-2 defeat to Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The champions are currently on a four-match losing streak in the league after another underwhelming performance - marking their worst run in the top-flight since the 2020/21 campaign when Jurgen Klopp’s side started the season as defending champions.
Arne Slot admitted that Saturday’s defeat to Brentford was ‘up there’ with his lowest nights as Liverpool manager, adding that his side are currently struggling to cope with certain styles while conceding that teams at this stage look as if they’ve figured out how to play against Liverpool.
“Teams have a certain playing style against us, which is a very good strategy to play,” said Slot, “and we haven’t found an answer yet, and that every time going 1-0 down doesn’t really help as well.”
It proved to be an enthralling affair for the neutral in the capital but it wasn’t without controversy either, with Liverpool feeling hard down by on two instances involving penalties.
Mark Clattenburg reacts to penalty controversy
Mark Clattenburg, who refereed in the top-flight between 2004 and 2017, believes the official Tim Robinson was correct to award Brentford a penalty kick against Liverpool.
The incident took place around an hour into the contest Dango Ouattara was tripped up by Virgil van Dijk while dribbling away from the Liverpool penalty box. Robinson initially awarded a free kick for the foul but changed his mind after reviewing the incident as he believed the incident started inside the penalty area.
“Virgil van Dijk clearly made contact with Dango Ouattara’s foot on the line of the penalty area,” said Clattenburg via TBR Football.
“The line of the penalty area is part of the penalty area, so any contact would result in a penalty kick. First impression was that the contact was outside, but all the angles show it was on the line.”
Clattenburg went on to discuss Cody Gakpo’s appeal for a spotkick early in the first half which could have changed the pattern of the game. The Netherlands international went down in the penalty area after being tackled by Brentford skipper Nathan Collins but Clattenburg feels that the contact on the forward was minimal and again defended the referee’s call.
He explained: “Cody Gakpo wanted a penalty kick when he was challenged inside the penalty area. The referee’s decision not to award a spot kick was an excellent one, as it’s clear that Gakpo sees the leg of the defender and throws himself to the ground.Referees look for unnatural action from attackers when awarding a penalty kick, and it’s clear from the replays that Gakpo’s arms are above his head; if the fall was natural, the arms would be outstretched, breaking the fall.”
Liverpool have a mountain to climb in the title race
After falling to a fourth consecutive league defeat, Liverpool have gone from runaway leaders to being seven points adrift of pacesetters Arsenal. It was something few Liverpool fans could have seen coming after the Merseyside derby win over Everton, particularly after spending more than £400m on new recruits.
It’s a situation which undoubtedly leaves Liverpool with plenty of work to do. They are struggling to control games in the manner they did last season, are often leaking goals and are no longer in the habit of getting late winners as they had been earlier in the campaign.
Liverpool may need a slight tactical rethink to work out what has changed between last season and this one while they’ll also need time to gel together new signings such as Milos Kerkez and the currently injured pair of Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong, who have all underwhelmed along with Florian Wirtz, with only Hugo Ekitike at present looking like he’s settled into his new surroundings.
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