Coach Jürgen Klopp showed remorse after his Liverpool FC scored 1-0 (0-0) against Manchester City because he received a red card for angry protests in the 86th minute. “Of course a red card, my fault. I overdid it at the moment,” said the 55-year-old on Sunday at the subsequent press conference. “I lost my composure at that moment and that’s not okay.”
In the final phase of the heated game, Klopp was upset with the referee about a foul on goal scorer Mohamed Salah that was not given. “I don’t think I was disrespectful to anyone,” said the coach. “But if you look at the pictures – I’ve known for 55 years that just looking at these moments is worth a red card.”
However, Klopp remained in his assessment of the situation on the pitch. “As a bit of an excuse, I’d like to mention: How can you not whistle at this foul? How the hell is that possible? And I wish I could have an explanation for that.”
After the worst start to the season in ten years, Liverpool ended their crisis with a prestigious win against previously unbeaten English champions Man City. Salah scored the winning goal for the Reds, who now sit eighth in the table, in the 76th minute at Anfield.
In the heated match, however, not only Klopp had misbehaved. Man City coach Pep Guardiola later reported on BBC Radio 5 Live that Liverpool supporters threw coins at him. A Liverpool spokesman said they were aware of the “absolutely unacceptable” incident. Guardiola stressed that he had not been hit.
After the game, Liverpool slammed opposition fans for chanting references to the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters. “We are deeply shocked that during today’s game at Anfield, vile chants about tragedy at football stadiums were heard from the away block,” said a statement on the Liverpool website hours after the game.
The Heysel tragedy in 1985 killed 39 people and the 1989 Hillsborough disaster killed 97 Liverpool fans. Referring to the chants at Anfield, the club wrote: “We know how this behavior is taking its toll on families, survivors and everyone dealing with such disasters.”
Liverpool also criticized that City supporters had left graffiti scrawls in the guest block.
