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Carragher & Richards Agree On Liverpool Penalty Shout vs Leeds
Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards have explained why Hugo Ekitike prevented himself from being awarded a penalty in Liverpool’s 0-0 draw against Leeds United. The French attacker was Arne Slot’s brighest spark in attack and gave the Black Cats defence problems with his pace.
Ekitike was put through on goal by Ibrahima Konate and was once he entered the penalty box he ran into Jaka Bijol. He couldn’t get the ball under control as he would have liked under the pressure from Bijol.
The Slovenian grabbed a hold of the Reds forward, who managed to stay on his feet before playing the ball to Florian Wirtz. The 23-year-old avoided diving for a potential spot kick, but the visiting supporters were enraged over the challenge.
Leeds 0-0 Liverpool: Carragher & Richards on Ekitike Penalty Shout
Ekitike showed his strength to at least hold of Bijol and prod the ball to Wirtz. VAR didn’t intervene and referee Chris Kavanagh wasn’t interested despite the fury from the fans in the away section at Elland Road.
Jamie Carragher analysed the incident on Sky Sports commentary and suggested Ekitike should have gone down:
“Look at him just using his body. If he goes down he probably gets a penalty, but he wanted to try and score a goal.”
The former Liverpool defender added:
“I think the defender probably does enough to make sure he doesnât give a penalty away.”
Richards echoed this and claimed it was ‘sustained holding’ which could have resulted in a spot kick:
“I think it was sustained holding, but I think because Ekitike is so strong, he does ever so well. If he goes down, he probably wouldâve looked at it.”
Referees often ignore brief contact from a player on an opponent, but prolonged and continuous holding is usually given as a foul. Kavanagh had to consider whether Bijol prevented Ekitike from challenging for the ball and trying to gain an advantage.
Liverpool put in a lacklustre performance as a three-match winning run came to an end against the Peacocks. Ekitike looked lively, but others, such as Florian Wirtz, were ineffective as the defending champions started the new year off in disappointing fashion.
Slot on Why it Wasn’t a Penalty
Slot called his Reds side the “most honest team” in the Premier League earlier this season and appeared to reaffirm this stance following the draw against Leeds. He gave his thoughts on Ekitike’s penalty claim by agreeing with Carragher and Richards:
“No (it wasn’t a penalty), because he stayed on his feet. If he had fallen down it would probably have been a penalty but this season so many times when we were fouled we did not get a penalty.”
Slot aired his frustrations with his side not being treated fairly when his players try to do the right thing:
“This season we have conceded a few soft penalties but Brentford away with Cody Gakpo the referee said, âplay onâ so our players try to stay on our feet and then it is hard for the VAR to interfere. We keep doing the same things. I donât believe in the fact that over a season you get what you deserve but in a long time, two, three, four seasons, then I believe in it.”
The Dutchman pointed out the lack of penalties his men have been awarded:
“I think I am not wrong in that we only had one penalty this season, for the team with most ball possession it is surprising. But I would not tell you I am encouraging them to do that. We are just who we are. We stay on our feet.”
Slot has more to dwell on then just the contentious challenge from Bijol on Ekitike as Liverpool didn’t deserve to win the game. They were frustrated by a resilient Leeds side and will be looking to get back to winning ways against Fulham on Sunday (January 4th).
