“It was a nailed-on penalty” - Ex-Liverpool star delivers verdict on Virgil van Dijk incident in 1-0 win over Crystal Palace
Former Liverpool winger Joe Cole believes the Reds were lucky to come away from Selhurst Park with all three points on Saturday, October 5. The Merseyside club picked up a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League, thanks to a ninth-minute Diogo Jota strike.
However, the talking point of the game arrived in the 71st minute. With the score poised at 1-0, Virgil van Dijk appeared to pull Marc Guehi down in the box.
Despite protests from the Palace players, the referee opted against awarding the home side a penalty. VAR had a look at the matter and decided to back the on-field referee's verdict. Liverpool held on and ultimately secured a hard-fought win in London.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Cole insisted that the Eagles were denied a clear-cut penalty.
"As Chalobah hits it into the ground that could quite easily have dropped to him. He has grabbed him by the arm and held him back. I like players reactions. Marc Guehi is not one to claim for something, but he really felt it was a penalty. That tells me it was a nailed-on penalty. I think they have got away with one there," said Cole.
Liverpool have now won six of their seven games in the league so far and are at the top of the league table, a point ahead of Manchester City in second.
What did Liverpool manager Arne Slot say about the incident?
Arne Slot has insisted that Crystal Palace can have no complaints about the refereeing on Saturday. The Dutch manager has now won nine of his ten games in charge since taking over at Anfield this summer.
Slot was asked about the penalty call in his post-game interview with TNT Sports and initially stated that he hadn't seen the incident. After he was shown the replay, the Dutchman insisted that the referee made the right call.
"Yeah, but the ball is going to the goalkeeper. He would never go there, but yeah, probably if he would have given this one, he wouldn't have changed it the VAR. But for me, that's not a penalty, because he will never get the ball," said Slot.
He continued:
"But in general, I don't think Palace fans can be unhappy with the referee today, because I think it took us 55 minutes before we got our first free-kick. It was 15 for us and two for them. We had 78 per cent ball possession. But it is an important decision, so that's why we talk about it."
Liverpool next face Chelsea in the Premier League on October 20.