Reyes Cleary of Barnsley is challenged by Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool inside the penalty area during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Barnsley on January 12, 2026 in Liverpool, England.placeholder image
Reyes Cleary of Barnsley is challenged by Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool inside the penalty area during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Barnsley on January 12, 2026 in Liverpool, England. | Getty Images
Liverpool avoided conceding a penalty against Barnsley on Monday night in the FA Cup in a decision that infuriated the visiting bench
Liverpool were fortunate to get away with conceding a penalty against Barnsley on Monday night, according to some former pundits, as the Reds advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 4-1 win at Anfield.
The scoreline does not paint the picture of the game, with the League One side leaving Merseyside with their heads held high. The Tykes had some early chances to take a shock lead but went 2-0 down after a stunning Dominik Szoboszlai strike and thundering Jeremie Frimpong finish.
Barnsley got gifted a lifeline in the game when Szoboszlai bizarrely tried to backheel across his own goal, only to mishit the ball and gift Adam Phillips a goal against his boyhood club.
Midway through the second half, Reyes Cleary got in behind the Liverpool defence. Szoboszlai tracked back to try and make the challenge with Clearly going down inside the penalty area.
The Barnsley bench were left incensed as the referee waved play on. Szoboszlai looked to have hold of Cleary’s shirt but did appear to make some contact with the ball. The decision came at a decisive time in the game, with Liverpool only leading 2-1.
Meanwhile, former Aston Villa and Manchester United striker Dion Dublin agreed.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “Having seen that challenge again I don't think Szoboszlai gets any of the ball. He has got too close to Cleary. He does get a toe on it but my first thought having seen it again is that it's a penalty.”
Liverpool eased nerves inside Anfield in the latter stages of the game as Hugo Ekitike set up Florian Wirtz to score a fine goal in front of the Kop and then in the 94th minute, Wirtz provided for Ekitike to finish and seal the win for the Reds.
Barnsley manager Conor Hourihane speaking to TNT Sports about his side's penalty appeal: "At the time I thought it was a stonewall penalty. He [Cleary] got across the player and you think penalty straight away. I think someone said he [Szoboszlai] might have got a touch on the ball but others said he may have thought he was in trouble and started dragging Reyes' shirt a bit. It would have been at a key time, 2-1, a penalty in front of our fans and you never know what can happen after that. So a big decision that probably went against us."
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot on his side's performance: "I was happy with the goals we scored - they were nice goals. But I think it was a game that was tight for far too long because at 2-0 and then giving a goal away like that made it difficult it until 5-10 minutes before the end. So yeah, good goals but not enough chances from all the ball possession we had."
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