Arne Slot believes referee Andy Madley was to blame for a controversial goal conceded by Liverpool against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Reds took a two-goal lead through Alexander Isak and Andy Robertson at Anfield, but the Eagles pulled one back after the break through Daniel Munoz.
The full-back chipped the ball into an empty net while Freddie Woodman was down injured on the pitch. The goalkeeper hit his knee off the turf after stopping Ismaila Sarr’s shot.
The incident had no impact on the end result, though, as Florian Wirtz went on to score and secure a 3-1 win for the hosts.
“It was a lot more nervy because of the goal,” Slot told BBC Match of the Day after the final whistle.
“I don’t think we deserved to concede it in that fashion. Palace were much more in the game than the 2-0 showed. Is there a game we play where there isn’t talk about the referee?”
Arne Slot points finger at referee over controversial Munoz goal
Slot added that he couldn’t fault Munoz for taking his opportunity on goal, but thinks Madley should have blown the whistle when Woodman went down.
“The number of times I’ve played against a team and then a player is on the floor and the referee blows the whistle. It happened against Manchester United when (Alexis) Mac Allister was on the floor, they played on and Macca needed five stitches afterwards. I don’t blame them, by the way, the referee should stop the game.
“It’s going to become a tactic to pretend you’re injured so the referee stops the play. He did it about four times today. Munoz, I think it’s 50-50 because some players wouldn’t have taken the shot. Some players would stop and some would score. I don’t blame him as much as I blame the referee.
The result sees Liverpool move into fourth place in the Premier League table, but it came at a cost as Mo Salah was forced off with an injury.
“Another win and another injury,” Slot said. “It’s the story of our season. It’s too early to say but we all know Mo and how hard it is for him to leave the pitch. For Mo to leave the pitch, it shows you something but we have to wait and see how bad it is.”
