Crystal Palace's Damien Delaney insists that Benteke did not deserve last minute penalty

Delaney was not impressed with the last minute penalty decision

Christian Benteke's last-gasp penalty completed 10-man Liverpool's fightback against Crystal Palace to keep alive their hopes of a top-four finish.

Substitute Benteke went down after a faint challenge by Damien Delaney deep in stoppage time and coolly slotted home to add to Robert Firmino's equaliser on 72 minutes.

Replays showed Delaney pulled his left foot away before making any contact, only to clip Benteke with his right knee as he slid through.

Crystal Palace manager was furious after the game and lambasted Benteke over what he thought was a dive.

"That touch doesn't warrant the dive he makes, and it's the dive that makes the linesman's mind up. It's a worrying issue in the game," Pardew said.

"If you're the referee and see the centre-half pulling out of the challenge, you don't give the penalty. And I don't think he did. The linesman assumes that little touch is a penalty."

Delaney speaks about penalty decision on social media

Delaney later took to Instagram to give his version of the events.

I can honestly say I didn't make contact with benteke today and IF there was slight contact I didnt impede him and certainly didn't feel there was enough to award a penalty in the 96th min... If a penalty is awarded that late it has to be unequivocal, I waited over an hour to speak with the officials and in fairness to Andre Marriner he said he didn't think it was a penalty but he trusted his linesman that much he awarded it. With the way the game was ref'd and the physicality of both teams it was unbelievably harsh. With how Wilfred and Yannick were man handled by Liverpool players over the course of the game, which I've no problem with, it was a really tough decision to take so late. All I can do is swallow it and hope to put this right.
A photo posted by Damien Delaney (@ddelaney27) on Mar 6, 2016 at 2:04pm PST

He wrote: "I can honestly say I didn't make contact with Benteke today and IF there was slight contact I didn't impede him and certainly didn't feel there was enough to award a penalty in the 96th min...If a penalty is awarded that late it has to be unequivocal.

"I waited over an hour to speak with the officials and in fairness to Andre Marriner he said he didn't think it was a penalty but he trusted his linesman that much he awarded it.

"With the way the game was ref'd and the physicality of both teams it was unbelievably harsh. With how Wilfred [Wilfried Zaha] and Yannick [Bolasie] were man handled by Liverpool players over the course of the game, which I've no problem with, it was a really tough decision to take so late.

"All I can do is swallow it and hope to put this right."