Manchester United beat Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford but Reds manager Arne Slott was left baffled by the decision to concede Benjamin Sesco’s goal in the first half.
Arne Slott lamented the decision to concede Benjamin Sesco’s goal (Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool manager Arne Slott insists Benjamin Sesco’s controversial goal should not have been conceded, but still believes the blame lies with his side. Matheus Cunha gave his team the lead before the Slovenian striker scored to make United 2-0 up.
VAR investigated the goal closely and replays showed the ball hit his foot and grazed his hand before the goal. It was determined that there was “no conclusive evidence” to suggest the forward had handled the ball.
Slott was confused by the call and claimed that according to the laws of the game, the goal should have been chalked out. In his post-game comments, the Dutchman said: “If it was a touch, I think it’s because if you know anything about ball games you know that the ball has a certain curve and if that curve changes there must have been contact.”
“But if it’s a minor case, there needs to be a debate in the football community as to whether that’s enough to cancel the goal. But the rule is that if there was a touch, it shouldn’t have been conceded.”
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“I don’t think it will be a surprise to anyone that if there is a VAR intervention this season, or if there is a chance of going left or right (50-50), that decision will go against us.
“That’s always been the whole season this season. I remember Paris Saint-Germain getting a penalty at home for a soft touch on Mac Allister, but of course VAR stepped in and said no, no, no, this is not a penalty. Then a week later I watched Paris Saint-Germain play Bayern Munich and they got the same soft touch but the penalty stayed.”
“Last week we saw the goalkeeper go to the floor injured and the referee didn’t stop the game. Today we saw United players come off the pitch and when we tried to continue playing the referee stopped the game. That’s been our whole season.”
Benjamin Sesko’s goal was conceded even though the ball appeared to have grazed his hand (Image: Getty Images)
Slott suggested the goal should have been chalked out, but insisted the players were just as responsible as the referee. He added: “But we didn’t concede the second goal because of a handball, we conceded because we lost the ball in a stupid position and we lost some big moments in the subsequent duel.”
“We have to look at ourselves first and that is completely clear and obvious, but it is also completely clear and obvious that decisions have been made in every game against us.
“When we played against United for the first time this season, one of our players got a serious injury on the floor and needed five stitches, and the referee didn’t stop the game, so we conceded a goal.It’s a pattern we’ve seen all season, but we also have a pattern where we’re the better team and we concede a huge goal and one or two players switch off and then we concede.
“It’s something we have more influence on, so we should focus more on that rather than the referee’s decision against us. It’s clear that the whole season is the same.”
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