Liverpool leveled the game against Newcastle late through a penalty, which was won by Victor Munoz in stoppage time, but it was a decision that Matthias Jaissle didn't agree with
Matthias Jaissle has been slammed for his claim on Liverpool's penalty
Matthias Jaissle has been slammed for his claim on Liverpool's penalty(Image: (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images))
Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has slammed Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle for claiming that the penalty decision awarded to the Reds was "soft."
It followed an end-to-end encounter between the Merseyside outfit and the Magpies at St. James' Park, where Andoni Iraola's side battled back twice to earn a point. Anthony Elanga opened the scoring with a blistering counterattack after just five minutes, before Cody Gakpo brought the visitors level with a strike from range in the second half.
It took just minutes for Newcastle to assert dominance once again, as another counter saw Joe Willock played through on goal to hand the lead back to the home side.
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Liverpool pushed for an equalizer, and eventually found an opportunity in stoppage time, when Victor Munoz was fouled by Lewis Hall in the box, prompting match referee Stuart Attwell to point to the penalty spot.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored from the spot, earning Liverpool a point that Iraola felt the team deserved, but for his opposition coach, there was a feeling that the penalty was perhaps a bit fortunate.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Jaissle said on the incident: "I think you call it here a really soft one.
"If you give that then there will be so many penalties in the future. I am not a fan of that, I have to say. I disagree but more I cannot say."
Lewis Hall brought down Victor Munoz to concede a last-gasp penalty against Liverpool
Lewis Hall brought down Victor Munoz to concede a last-gasp penalty against Liverpool(Image: Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
That is a claim that former Liverpool star Nicol disagrees with, as he said on ESPN FC: "What does that mean?
"It’s either a foul or it’s not a foul. If it’s a foul, it’s a penalty, and it’s not soft. You can’t have this ‘soft’ nonsense. If you’re gonna come out with that. I’m sorry, I don’t get it.
“If that was in the other penalty box, I’d be saying the exact same thing. I don’t get where the debate is, because it’s clear as day for me.”
Despite that possible debate, Liverpool managed to take a point from seemingly nothing to get the season up and running, even if there clearly needs to be some work to improve further.
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There will naturally be concerns about how the Reds defended in transition, ahead of a clash with a Nottingham Forest side under Oliver Glasner, which will thrive off of such space and time being given to the forwards.
Whether that will change through coaching or personnel remains to be seen, with just one week left of the transfer window for deals to get done, with some potential arrivals on the cards.
It sets up another important week of reflection and improvement for the new head coach, with the season now finally underway.