A ‘harsh’ decision undid Aston Villa as Steven Gerrard questioned late penalty calls after his team lost to Liverpool.
Liverpool kept up their Premier League title chase with a narrow victory over Aston Villa. The game gained focus due to the unmissable Anfield return of former Reds midfielder Steven Gerrard, who now manages Villa. The former Rangers’ boss did not leave his former stomping ground happy though, as he questioned crucial decisions made during the match.
Villa did not let Liverpool in and kept their hosts in check for most parts. However, a second-half penalty awarded to the Reds ensured their hard work was undone. While Gerrard never questioned Mohamed Salah’s penalty decision, he did ask why his side weren’t given an advantage during the build-up to the spot-kick.
Gerrard pointed out how Tyrone Mings was fouled before Liverpool got their spot-kick, which Salah easily dispatched. Furthermore, the manager was appalled by the officials’ decision not to award them a penalty when it seemed Danny Ings was fouled by Allison late in the game.
The Reds keeper and central defender Joel Matip had a mix-up, and as Ings swept with the ball, the striker was supposedly brought down by the Brazilian stopper. Gerrard asked big questions over why that wasn’t a penalty, which could have given his Aston Villa side a valuable point.
His comments appeared on The Sun via the BBC as Steven Gerrard looked furious. Gerrard said, “Ultimately, the game’s been decided by a penalty. Liverpool got theirs, we didn’t get ours. It feels harsh. Salah fouls Tyrone Mings first.
Gerrard’s Aston Villa have shown tremendous improvement since he took over as manager. He has helped the team win three out of their five games so far, with the defeats coming against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and his old club Liverpool this Saturday.
As the fixtures pile up, Villa will now face relegation-threatened Norwich City on Tuesday night and then Burnley at the weekend. As for Liverpool, they kept the pressure on leaders Manchester City, who recorded a narrow victory over ten-man Wolves earlier in the day to remain top of the Premier League heading into the midweek clashes.
