LONDON • Jurgen Klopp said he would be hit with "the biggest fine in world football" for his true thoughts on Tottenham Hotspur's dramatic late equaliser at Anfield on Sunday but insisted the match officials cost Liverpool a crucial victory in their pursuit of Champions League qualification.
Harry Kane helped Spurs earn a 2-2 draw with a 95th-minute penalty - his 100th Premier League goal - after linesman Edward Smart penalised Virgil van Dijk for a kick on Spurs substitute Erik Lamela.
Jon Moss had waved play on before Smart's intervention and had also consulted the assistant over another penalty for the visitors 10 minutes earlier. That spot kick was missed by Kane, who was offside when Dele Alli played the ball forward via a deflection off Dejan Lovren, and Klopp claimed both decisions were poor mistakes that overshadowed another stunning display by Mohamed Salah.
The Egypt international struck his 20th and 21st league goals of the campaign, the second in the 91st minute after a stunning solo run and finish that was reminiscent of Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
Salah is the quickest Liverpool player to reach 20 goals in the Premier League era (25 games).
"It's not a penalty," Liverpool manager Klopp said. "I've heard Lamela was offside with one leg, running into Virgil van Dijk. Virgil sees him at the last moment, stops the movement but still touches him. Lamela is already on the way down. The referee says keep on going and the linesman makes the decision. That's what everybody saw.
"It was obviously not his day. The first penalty, it was one of the clearest offside situations I have seen. Unless there's a new rule. Is there?
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Tottenham are the first away team to be awarded two penalties in a Premier League game at Anfield since 1992.
"When the ball left the foot of the Tottenham player, Harry Kane was offside."
Alli was booked for diving in the second half and Klopp claimed Spurs were "wanting to go down".
He added: "It was not a dive of Lamela. He jumped in the situation, he wanted the contact. He didn't look back in the situation, he didn't even look at the ball.
"I am angry but I can't change anything. What's my job now - to create headlines? To be punished? To pay a fine? If I say what I think, I would pay the biggest fine in world football."
In contrast, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said the officials "were right in every single decision".
"Sometimes you complain, but, when they are right and show character, I think it is important to recognise and congratulate them, because they have a difficult job," he said.
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Premier League talking points
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GUARDIOLA SENDS UNSUBTLE SUB MESSAGE
The sight of the Manchester City manager blessed with the most expensive squad in the Premier League pleading poverty by naming just six out of a possible seven substitutes did not receive a huge amount of sympathy.
Pep Guardiola claimed he "didn't have any players" to fill his bench at Burnley after a series of injuries, in part caused by repeated nasty challenges that have irked the Spaniard and his players.
Guardiola may also have been sending a message to his superiors after a deadline-day attempt to land winger Riyad Mahrez fell well short of Leicester's valuation.
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IS LUKAKU A FLAT-TRACK BULLY?
Manchester United splashed out on Romelu Lukaku last summer to ensure they finished more of the chances they created and, based on the statistics alone, he has delivered with 19 goals in all competitions. But a closer look at the figures shows he has not produced the goods in the big games, leading to accusations he is a flat-track bully.
The Belgium international scored again on Saturday in a 2-0 win against Huddersfield after failing to find the net against Tottenham in midweek - meaning he has yet to score in six matches against fellow members of the "Big Six" this season. Until he does, his detractors will continue to point out he cannot deliver when it matters most.
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HOWE PUTS BOURNEMOUTH BACK IN FASHION
At Christmas, Bournemouth looked to be in severe trouble. Successive 4-0 defeats by Liverpool and Manchester City had left them in the bottom three and the poverty of their performances - along with Eddie Howe's unwillingness to stray from his open, idealistic approach - rang alarm bells.
Six weeks on, they have taken 15 points from seven games and are seven points above the relegation zone.
Their 2-1 comeback win at home against Stoke on Sunday was achieved by players who Howe left more or less intact in the transfer window.
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AUBAMEYANG AND MKHITARYAN LIFT ARSENAL
Just when Arsene Wenger needed it most, his new signings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan provided a welcome boost to Arsenal.
A wretched January featuring poor league results and a shock FA Cup exit at Nottingham Forest had Wenger's critics sharpening their knives again and Alexis Sanchez's move to Manchester United hardly quelled the mounting questions at his door.
But fortunately for Wenger, Aubameyang signed for a club-record £56 million (S$103.6 million) from Borussia Dortmund, and Mkhitaryan, brought in from United as part of the Sanchez deal, quickly re-established their telepathic relationship in a 5-1 thrashing of Everton.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN
After a long discussion between Moss and his assistant, Kane saw his first penalty saved by Loris Karius five minutes from time with the score at 1-1. Given another chance with virtually the last kick of the game, Kane drilled his second penalty to the goalkeeper's left.
The England international is the second quickest player to reach a Premier League century, with only Alan Shearer (124) bettering his return of 100 goals in 141 games.
Said Pochettino: "He can miss a penalty or a chance but, if you have the personality to score 100 Premier League goals, it is because you have big, big b****."
Despite the late drama, Spurs still trail third-placed Liverpool by two points down in fifth in the race for a place in the top four.
Their challenge remains undermined by their record on the road against their closest challengers.
Under Pochettino, Spurs have won just one of 19 away trips to their Premier League top-six rivals Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Penalty posers
SPOT KICK NO. 1
While Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is adamant that Harry Kane was offside prior to Tottenham being awarded their first spot kick, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher said the officials applied the rule correctly.
The rule reads: A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save) is not considered to have gained an advantage.
Gallagher told Sky Sports: "(Harry) Kane is in an offside position and (Dejan) Lovren has the chance to clear the ball and takes a chance. He has ample opportunity to clear it. He doesn't and he's clearly hit the ball. The ball comes through to Kane who is now not offside, as the law states."
SPOT KICK NO. 2
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk accused Erik Lamela of exaggerating to win the penalty, and experts are split on whether it should have been given.
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg told The Times: "I believe there is a suspicion of offside in the build-up. The ball is touched by Fernando Llorente and into Lamela, who is fractionally offside. As we have seen with VAR (video assistant referee) now, offside is a matter of fact and no benefit is given to the attacking team. Therefore, the penalty should not have been allowed."
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, however, felt that the referee was spot on.
The pundit told Sky Sports: "I've done that one myself, where you don't see the attacker coming across you, you control and then all of a sudden he's there. It just looked a clear penalty."
THE GUARDIAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
