“He is last man and he goes in. If he hits Mo more then he is out for the season”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has claimed that Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany should have been sent off during his team’s loss at the Etihad Stadium.
Kompany was booked for a hard challenge on Liverpool winger Mo Salah in the first half with the Manchester side going on to win 2-1 thanks to a 72nd-minute winner from Leroy Sane.
But Klopp claimed after the game that Kompany should have been dismissed by the referee in what would have proved to have been a pivotal moment in the match.
“I really like Vincent Kompany but how on Earth is that not a red card?” Klopp said after the game.
“He is last man and he goes in. If he hits Mo more then he is out for the season. It is not easy for the ref and he may not see it how I see it.
“I like him he is such a fantastic player, loved him when he was at Hamburg but a player makes a decision, goes to the ground. If Mo is on his feet, we all know what happens.
“Look, he is still a nice guy but with a really bad decision. If Mo can go through, come on, what happens then? Do you need blood? An open something?
“When we were here last year we got a red card and nobody thought about it. Sadio [Mane] didn’t want to do that for a second but he hit him. Look at it and make your own opinion.”
However, Kompany disagreed with the German’s assessment of the tackle. “I thought it was a great challenge, was it not? I got the ball, a little bit of the man but it wasn’t naughty,” the Belgian said. “I didn’t try to injure him. It was that or let him go through on goal.”
The game means Liverpool are now just four points clear of City at the top of the table with 17 games remaining. The loss also ends the Merseysiders’ hopes of emulating Arsenal’s 2003-04 ‘Invincibles’ and going the entire season unbeaten.
But Klopp insisted his team were in a strong position to capture their first league Championship in over two decades.
“If somebody had told me after both games against Man City we would be four points up, I would have paid money,” said Klopp.
“We want to finish the season as strongly as possible and we are still in a pretty good position.
“I have already said to the boys this is OK. We lost it but it will happen. Tonight it is not nice but it is not the biggest problem.”
