- Jurgen Klopp has expressed his regret after wildly celebrating Sadio Mane's winner in front of assistant referee Dan Cook, which could see the Football Association take retrospective action against the Liverpool manager.
LONDON • Jurgen Klopp has expressed his regret after wildly celebrating Sadio Mane’s winner in front of assistant referee Dan Cook, which could see the Football Association take retrospective action against the Liverpool manager.
The Premier League leaders bounced back from their mini blip of two successive losses in all competitions to beat Bournemouth 2-1 on Saturday, leaving them just three wins shy of lifting their first English top-flight title in 30 years.
It was hard work at Anfield, though, as they had to come from behind with Mohamed Salah and Mane overturning Callum Wilson’s disputed opener.
Klopp was visibly peeved at the officials who allowed Bournemouth’s strike despite Joe Gomez seemingly shoved off the ball illegally by Wilson, who went on to score.
Referencing the incident – a week after Everton’s Carlo Ancelotti was fined £8,000 (S$14,400) for confronting referee Chris Kavanagh after their 1-1 draw with Manchester United – as the basis for his over-exuberant celebrations, Klopp said: “To be honest, yes, (I regret) that happened.
“Would I do it now? No. But in this moment, I just don’t understand how this could be a goal. It was a foul. The touch was enough to let Joe struggle – it was a foul. I was like, ‘Wow, how is that possible that someone sits there and doesn’t see it?’… It makes no sense.
“So I celebrated a little bit in their direction. I’m not happy about it, but it happened and I didn’t say anything while I was celebrating.”
The controversy fired up Klopp and the Anfield crowd as the Reds went on to secure a record-breaking 22nd straight home win, surpassing the 1972 mark set by Bill Shankly’s Liverpool team.
The hosts were nearly denied when Ryan Fraser lobbed Adrian in the second half, only for James Milner to clear the ball off the line with his “really long big toe”.
“The biggest chance fell to Bournemouth, we have to admit that,” Klopp said. “Milly saved our life in that situation.
“I will never compare with this fella (Shankly). We didn’t think about the number (23) before the game, but after the game, we can think about it for a couple of minutes. It’s nice.”
His men now turn their attention towards Wednesday’s second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid and the German promised the European champions will give “100 per cent” to overhaul the one-goal deficit.
“That’s a tough one, as we know. Of course, they will not come here to play a friendly game,” he added. “It will be the opposite. Maybe one or two players (will be) coming back – we will see – and then with a good line-up and with Anfield, we’ll try to change it.”
