Pundit bizarrely claims Liverpool's winner against Fulham was only allowed to stand because it was at the Kop End
Football pundit Richard Keys has boldly claimed that Liverpool's winner against Fulham was only allowed to stand because it was scored at the Kop End.
The Reds faced off against Fulham at Anfield in a Premier League thriller on Sunday, December 3. They recovered from a 3-2 deficit in the 86th minute to secure a stunning 4-3 comeback two minutes later through Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold's respective screamers.
However, there was a bit of controversy surrounding Alexander-Arnold's winner in the 88th minute. Fulham's Bobby De Cordova-Reid attempted to clear the ball away from inside the box but was roughly challenged by Kostas Tsimikas.
The Fulham forward's clearance ultimately reached Alexander-Arnold, who unleashed a powerful strike, finding the bottom-left corner. VAR opted to let the goal stand, leading to the Reds securing all three points.
However, Richard Keys, along with former Liverpool star Jason McAteer and the other pundits, believed that the goal should have been ruled out due to a foul on De Cordova-Reid.
McAteer told beIN Sports (via METRO):
"I’ve got to admit, I thought there was [a foul]. Tsimikas, the way he challenged, he didn’t win the ball – he barged into the player. It’s a brave call to disallow that but for me that’s a foul."
Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke added:
"It’s a clear foul, we all agree. Look at the defender and look where the ball went. He’s cleared the ball then got thumped afterwards."
Andy Gray said:
"It’s only not a foul if Tsimikas wins the header."
But Richard Keys had a more controversial reason as to why the goal wasn't disallowed, taking aim at Liverpool's most vocal supporters:
"It’s only not a foul because it’s at the Kop End."
Liverpool are now second in the Premier League table with 31 points from 14 games, just two points behind leaders Arsenal.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hails Trent Alexander-Arnold after Fulham win
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed Trent Alexander-Arnold after he produced a Player-of-the-Match performance to help the Reds defeat Fulham 4-3 on Sunday.
The 25-year-old found the back of the net with a stunning free-kick to break the deadlock in the 20th minute, which was later credited as a Bernd Leno own goal. He then scored the winner in the 88th minute to help the Reds secure all three points.
Alexander-Arnold also made 10 recoveries, created two big chances, and completed 66 out of his 81 passes with an accuracy of 81%. During the post-match press conference, Klopp said (via Liverpool's official website):
"Today he [Alexander-Arnold] was a real leader on the pitch – that's probably the biggest improvement, if you want. Because it was super-intense but it got kind of another push when you put him a bit more inside in that moment."
He added:
"He's so often in these positions, there is no change really. He's very often in half-spaces in the centre and stuff like this. So it was just really good. But he was a real leader on the pitch – that was most important."
The Reds next face Sheffield United away from home on Wednesday, December 6.