Liverpool slipped to a 10th Premier League defeat of the season after losing 2-1 against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The hosts deserved their victory, but it could've been very different if the referee had made different decisions.
Milos Kerkez's well-taken goal wasn't enough for the stumbling champions as English forward Danny Welbeck netted twice to see off Arne Slot's men. The defeat leaves Liverpool at risk of falling outside the top five places in the table, and at risk of missing out on Champions League football.
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The contest was even in the first half, but Fabian Hurzeler's Seagulls stepped up a gear after half-time and Welbeck's winner was enough to beat the Reds. However, the hosts were lucky not to have been reduced to 10 men inside the opening 45 minutes.
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Brighton & Hove Albion's Yankuba Minteh in action with Liverpool's Jeremie Frimpong
Undoubtedly among the best players on the pitch, Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh caused Jeremie Frimpong all sorts of problems down the left flank. However, the ex-Newcastle man was lucky to even be on the pitch beyond half-time.
That's according to former PGMOL boss and FIFA referee Keith Hackett. Speaking to Football Insider, the retired English official pointed out that Minteh, already on a yellow card, carried out an act of simulation inside the Liverpool box.
The incident went unpunished by referee Darren England, but Hackett is convinced the dive should've been punished with a second yellow card. He labelled it 'cheating' as he said:
"There should be only one outcome for this type of offence. A yellow card for attempting to deceive the referee by an act of simulation.
"If referees do not sanction, we will continue to witness this attempt to cheat."
Steven Gerrard Gives Clear Minteh Red Card Verdict
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During TNT Sport's half-time coverage of the Premier League encounter, Steven Gerrard labelled Minteh 'extremely lucky' to have avoided punishment after trying to win a penalty by deceiving the officials.
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The Frenchman added to the Reds' injury woes this week after Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah also picked up fresh fitness concerns.
Asked about the incident, the ex-Liverpool star even claimed Hurzeler would be considering substituting him. Minteh, however, stayed on the pitch and played a huge role in Brighton's winner. Gerrard stated (per The Mirror):
"Well I think he’s extremely lucky. It has been a great battle down that side - they’ve both got blistering pace. The ball gets played in behind here, there’s no contact and he just goes over.
"It is a dive in my opinion and he gets away with one here. He’s very very lucky. I’ll be surprised if the manager keeps him on much longer actually with [Kaoru] Mitoma on the bench, so keep an eye out for that as well."