Jamie Carragher handed down the verdict on his penalty appeal in the Premier League match between Liverpool and Leeds United at Anfield on New Year’s Day.
Jamie Carragher gave a quick assessment of Liverpool’s penalty appeal during their Premier League clash with Leeds United.
The Reds faced Los Blancos on New Year’s Day at Anfield, looking to close the gap on the team above them in the table.
Liverpool went into the game looking for another win after defeating Wolves 2-1 at home in the previous round, with goals from Ryan Grafenberch and Florian Wirtz scoring their first goals for the club since joining Bayer Leverkusen for £116m in the summer.
Arne Slott’s side go into their match against Leeds fourth in the Premier League table, with a win to give them a chance to close the gap on third-placed Aston Villa.
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Liverpool dominated possession in the early stages and Wertz created the Reds’ first significant chance to break the deadlock, but his close-range effort was stopped by Leeds defender James Justin.
Moments before Wirtz’s attempt, Hugo Ekitike was fighting for the ball with Xhaka Bihor inside the penalty area, and the Liverpool striker was clearly frustrated.
After Liverpool’s chance to score the first goal was denied, there were calls for a penalty at one point, but Carragher provided commentary and analysis, reports the Liverpool Echo.
“If he (Ekitike) goes down he’ll probably get a penalty but he’s trying to score a goal,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
“I think the defenders probably try hard enough not to give away penalties (away). It was a great play from Ekitike. It was a centre-forward play.”
Liverpool also missed out on a come-from-behind win against Leeds, so they would have wanted to pick up as many points as possible.
The Reds should have picked up a point from a 3-3 draw at Elland Road in December, but Liverpool conceded a last-minute equalizer and missed out on a win on the trip to Yorkshire.
Despite Slott’s side having a 12-point lead at the start of the game, Liverpool were unable to trouble goalkeeper Lucas Perry for much of the first 45 minutes, and the game went into half-time scoreless against Leeds.
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