Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool boss says Brentford ‘stretch the rules’ and criticises officials after defeat | Football News

Jurgen Klopp criticised Stuart Attwell for his handling of Liverpool’s defeat at Brentford on Monday, saying he “cannot respect” the referee’s decision to allow the Bees’ third goal.

Brentford moved up to seventh in the Premier League – just one place and two points behind Liverpool – with a 3-1 win at the Gtech Community Stadium, secured thanks to goals from Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo and an own goal by Ibrahima Konate.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had halved the deficit early in the second half but Brentford put the game beyond doubt when Mbeumo knocked Konate off the ball before slotting past Alisson.

Klopp was furious on the touchline after Attwell awarded the goal, while Liverpool’s players immediately surrounded the referee appealing for a foul by Mbeumo on Konate.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Klopp said: “The third goal, I have no clue. In that situation, when you are in a full sprint and get a push in the back, you lose control and go down.

“[Stuart] Attwell thought it’s not a foul and VAR hides behind the phrase ‘it’s not clear and obvious’. The other way round, if it is a foul, you’d never say ‘no, no, no’. He’d explain that, if somebody would ask him.

“The third goal has nothing to do with anything else, it’s just a foul. The third goal I really cannot respect.”

Klopp was also critical of the officials for not clamping down on what he perceived to be foul play by Brentford from attacking set-pieces.

Konate’s own goal came from a corner, while Wissa had a goal ruled out for offside after he turned the ball home from another corner shortly afterwards.

Klopp said: “We played here last year and it was 3-3 and it’s a very similar game, a wild game, a game Brentford wants.

“I’m not sure you can really control it all the time because each corner is a massive threat. They stretch the rules in these moments, full-body contact.

“There was only one offensive foul off a set-piece tonight which was whistled and it was against us, which is really funny!

“Of course we don’t behave perfectly but, like I said, they stretch the rules in these moments. They’re really pushing, really holding and everything. That’s why it’s really difficult. I wish we could have done better there.

“We had a meeting before the season where they told us the refs will whistle that but unfortunately they don’t do it. A foul is a foul, holding is holding, pushing is pushing.

“If the refs see it, you would expect them to whistle it. If they don’t see it, they can’t whistle it, and that’s how it is.”

“There’s a reason they’re so successful with offensive set-pieces and still concede a lot of defensive goals around set-pieces – because there you cannot do the same stuff, because in your own box it would be a penalty.”

But despite his criticism of the officials, Klopp insisted he was not using them as an excuse for his side’s defeat – their fifth in the league this season – and refused to spare his players.

“I know people will [say] I use it as an excuse,” said Klopp. “It’s not. I expect us to do better.

“I didn’t want to play the game they wanted to play but in the end it happened like that and we have to point at ourselves and we do that 100 per cent.

“We conceded the first goal in a moment when we should already be 2-0 up, super chances for Darwin [Nunez] and Kostas [Tsimikas], pretty much alone in front of the goal.

“But we didn’t use them, we’re 1-0 down and we get away with an offside goal after a set-piece again, so scrappy in these moments. The next situation, they play the ball behind the line and we’re not there, so that’s a massive point for criticism.

“The second goal is a present to Brentford, which I’m really angry about. We have to be much more clear in the situations when we’re in control of the game and we couldn’t do that tonight.”

Liverpool’s defeat came after wins over Aston Villa and Leicester in the past week, and Klopp admitted: “After two super intense games, it didn’t look like the belief was there any more.”

There was also a worry for Klopp at half-time, with Virgil van Dijk being forced off with a hamstring issue. Liverpool’s next game is at home to Wolves in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

“Virgil felt a little bit the muscle,” explained Klopp. “But that is fine.

“I didn’t want to take any risks. The physios were happy with that. It’s not an injury, he just felt intensity.

“Virg said ‘I’m fine’ but he got treatment of the hamstring, so we said ‘don’t risk’.”

Frank: We have very good referees

Thomas Frank described the officials as “very good” but preferred to focus on Brentford’s performance, which extended their unbeaten run to six Premier League matches.

“I guess we have some very good referees,” said Frank. “We have four on the pitch and then the VAR room.

“Konate is a big lad and pretty strong. In a dual with Bryan, I would back Konate to win that nine out of 10 times. So well done to Bryan.”

Frank added: “These players keep surprising me. They keep massively impressing me with mentality, effort and willpower as a group.

“It shouldn’t, in a way, be possible to beat Liverpool, but with everything together we managed to do this.

“Set-pieces, we know, we are good. Against Liverpool, they are very successful but it’s no secret we can get in behind them.

“The way we defend is incredible. Clear structure but brave to go high sometimes. We are very difficult to break down. The second goal is a good example of that, we are brave and aggressive.

“We’re confident but humble. We need to have confidence we can beat any team in the world.”

Brentford’s win was even more impressive given it was achieved without top scorer Ivan Toney, who missed the game through injury.

“It’s so impressive we managed to win [without Ivan],” said Frank. “It’s very likely he’s 100 per cent ready for Bournemouth [January 14].”