‘Said so’ - Jurgen Klopp claims fourth official admitted wrong decision in Liverpool’s win at Newcastle United

Jurgen Klopp has claimed the fourth official at St James’ Park admitted a ‘clear foul’ was missed on Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold which resulted in the player being booked in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Newcastle United.

The Reds right-back was shouldered in the back by former Everton winger Anthony Gordon but the referee awarded the hosts a throw in much to Alexander-Arnold’s annoyance.

The defender threw the ball away and was immediately booked by referee John Brooks under new Premier League guidelines. Moments later he put his arm across Gordon as he attempted to race away from the Newcastle penalty area with the winger going to the floor. Many of those associated with Newcastle in the stands and on the pitch demanded a second yellow card.

However, Brooks opted to keep his cards in his pocket after a sharp word with Alexander-Arnold and Klopp has revealed after the game the defender should not have been booked in the first place, according to the fourth official.

“First and foremost, I think when Trent gets a yellow card, it’s a clear foul on him. The fourth official said so,” said Klopp.

Gordon opened the scoring for the hosts before Virgil van Dijk was sent off for bringing down Alexander Isak on the edge of the penalty area.

However, after Alisson Becker denied Miguel Almiron with a superb save and the post saved Liverpool in the second half, Darwin Nunez came off the bench to score a late double and seal a dramatic three points.

Klopp added: “Virgil’s really thankful. It’s all good. Players came on, Jarell Quansah came on. Joe Gomez came on early and played a super game, I’m really happy for him. Endo has no clue on what we actually do. Macca and Dom as a double six were brilliant. Diogo made a super impact. Sometimes these kind of stories get written, obviously I would be much more happy if we can finish a game with 11.

“For the moment, it’s great. With 10 men in my history, I have never had something like that at Newcastle, in this stadium with that atmosphere, it is crazy. Next week it is, Aston Villa, they are strong like crazy.”