‘Man United had more penalties in two years than Liverpool in five-and-a-half’

A furious Jurgen Klopp slammed referee Andre Marriner, while also highlighting the amount of penalties Manchester United get after Sadio Mane was denied a spot-kick at Southampton.

Liverpool’s bad form continued as Saints beat them 1-0 thanks to a clever lob from former Red Danny Ings.

The champions offered little in the clash, registering just ONE shot on target at St Mary’s – a scuffed effort by Mane which was comfortably saved by Fraser Forster.

But Klopp is adamant his players were hard done by when Marriner didn’t award them a penalty in the 69th minute with Mane falling in the box following a challenge by Kyle Walker-Peters.

The faint appeals from the Liverpool players were dismissed by Marriner, while VAR saw no reason to give the visitors a free shot at goal.

Klopp wasn’t having it as he slammed Marriner’s treatment of Mane, while also suggesting the Reds could have had another spot-kick when Georginio Wijnaldum’s shot rebounded onto Jack Stephen’s arm.

He also claimed second-placed Manchester United have been given more penalties in the last two years than Liverpool have in the last five-and-a-half years.

He told the media: “What Andre Marriner did with Sadio Mane tonight I am not sure is okay to be honest. We cannot change that.

“We had a good view of it. I turned around to the fourth official and asked if it would be checked. He said: ‘We’ve checked it already, no pen.’”

“If anyone ever says Sadio Mane is a diver, that is the biggest joke in the world. Other teams would get a penalty for this. The handball – can someone please explain that to me?

“Manchester United had more penalties in two years than me in five and a half years – but [we have] no excuses for tonight.

Klopp admitted his team could have done better but took responsibility for the defeat that has seen them go three matches without a win.

He added: “I know [the boys] are great guys, fantastic players, but tonight they should have done better. So I get angry. They know this. We don’t have to make it bigger than it is, but it’s big. It’s mainly my fault, but the boys had a hand as well.”