"A clear red card" - Thomas Frank slams VAR as Liverpool midfielder escapes sending off in 3-0 Brentford win
Brentford manager Thomas Frank blasted VAR for not sending off Wataru Endo during his side's 3-0 loss against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, November 12.
The Reds cruised to a comfortable win against the Bees with a Mohamed Salah brace and Diogo Jota long-range screamer enough to seal all three points for the home side. They are currently second in the Premier League table with 27 points from 12 games.
However, it could have all gone wrong for Liverpool had Wataru Endo been given a straight red card in the 55th minute when the score was still 1-0. The Japan skipper rushed into a sliding challenge and made contact with Christian Norgaard with his studs-up, which left the latter receiving medical attention.
VAR checked for a possible red card but decided to go with the on-field decision, much to Thomas Frank's chagrin. The German tactician said (via METRO):
"Liverpool won 3-0 they did well but of course this is a key moment in the game and we need to get these key moments right. First of all I think the ref should have seen it as a foul on the pitch. I think that back in the day it’s probably not a red card. But in these days with the VAR and the slow mo, I think it’s a clear red."
He added:
"If you look at the Curtis Jones [red card] that Liverpool got against them, [Marcus] Rashford’s against Copenhagen, we had one for Josh Dasilva against Newcastle two years ago."
Frank concluded;
"When you have that still footage, plus the force, he’s going over the ball, plus the pictures of clear studs on Nørgaard’s leg with blood and everything, then it’s a red card. So that could have changed it. In the end it didn’t, we lost, we performed well."
Jurgen Klopp chose not to comment on the matter, hailing the 30-year-old for his disciplined performance. Endo was fortunate not to get sent off for a similar foul against Toulouse in their UEFA Europa League clash on November 9.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hails Mohamed Salah after Brentford win
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised Mohamed Salah after his brace inspired the Reds to a 3-0 win against Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday.
The 31-year-old broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, accurately curling the ball into the bottom-left corner. He added a second in the 62nd minute with a simple header from close range following a Kostas Tsimikas cross.
Klopp said (via Liverpool's official website):
"Exceptional. Just an exceptional player. He played a super game today. We all know how difficult it is against these two tall centre-backs, two players around him and all these kind of things, but how often he kept the ball for us and we could play from there - that was super-important - and then scoring two goals."
He added:
"We had so many good moments in the first half where we scored but it was offside and things like that. Then in that moment, the composure for the first goal is insane. There is no doubt when the ball is in that area [that] in the end you see it on the scoresheet. A pretty special player."
Salah's second goal was his 200th goal in English football. He also joined an elite company, becoming the third player in history after Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry to have scored or provided an assist in 15 consecutive Premier League home games.