Roberto De Zerbi was disappointed Brighton were not awarded a penalty during their 2-2 clash with Liverpool today.
Goals from Simon Adingra and Lewis Dunk either side of a Mo Salah brace meant the spoils were shared at the Amex Stadium.
Whilst the Reds were still in front during the second half on the south coast, the ball appeared to strike Virgil van Dijk’s arm after bouncing up off his thigh and the Brighton boss felt aggrieved his side were not given a spot kick.
The Italian also admitted his respect for Jurgen Klopp (in comments relayed by the ECHO’s Paul Gorst on X):
De Zerbi on penalty shout for handball: "I love Klopp! He can do what he wants because I have a big respect and I consider him one of the best coaches in thr world. I like his behaviour. When he says something 99% I agree. It was a clear penalty and I told the referee."
— Paul Gorst (@ptgorst) October 8, 2023
We have huge respect for De Zerbi and the work he has done since replacing Graham Potter as Brighton boss last September but we’re not quite sure how he can say that it was a ‘clear penalty’.
The ball hit our No. 4 at speed and then deflected off his thigh so there was nothing he could’ve done to prevent the ball from hitting his arm.
It must be highlighted, however, that the Seagulls boss did admit that the free kick Brighton equalised from was not actually a foul on Solly March.
Although it’s frustrating to drop two points it was a fair result between two proper footballing teams.
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