Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was left seething after the Reds were penalised late on in a dramatic 1-1 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Diogo Jota s 60th-minute strike – his eighth goal in his past eight Liverpool appearances in all competitions – appeared to be sending the visitors three points clear at the top of the Premier League.
However, after VAR had intervened to disallow goals for Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, Liverpool were delivered a hammer blow by the technology in stoppage time.
Andy Robertson swung out a foot and clipped Danny Welbeck in the area, and though referee Stuart Attwell did not spot the infringement initially, he changed his mind after viewing the pitch-side monitor.
Neal Maupay became the first Premier League player to start, miss a penalty and then be subbed off before half-time since Dennis Bergkamp for Arsenal in April 1998 when he failed to hit the mark from 12 yards in the first half, but Pascal Gross made no such mistake.
Liverpool have now dropped six points from winning positions this season, more than they did in the entirety of 2019-20 (five), but Henderson – who had a late winner contentiously ruled out in October s Merseyside derby – was furious with the penalty award.
While Klopp diplomatically said the decisions were correct, Henderson told BT Sport: It was ours. It should be three points, in my opinion.
I ve seen the replay. Who would be happy? It s not a penalty. It feels like we re standing here every week and discussing incidents. I don t want to get into trouble, but for me it s not a penalty.
2017 This is the first time Liverpool have dropped points in the Premier League thanks to goals scored after 90+ minutes since August 2017, with Miguel Britos strike earning a 3-3 draw for Watford. Suckerpunch.
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Danny Welbeck said to me it wasn t a penalty. There were four or five [Brighton players] who felt it wasn t a penalty.
To overturn it, it has to be clear and obvious. Is that a clear and obvious penalty, to go to the screen and overturn it? Obviously, the referees know better than us, but I thought the lads were brilliant today and deserved the three points.
We had a couple of goals ruled off for offside. Overall, we ve got to be positive and take the performance out of it, because the result isn t anything else but an error in my opinion.
You d rather get beat by two or three than end up like that. It feels like two points taken away from us.
Though Henderson claimed Welbeck said it was not a penalty, the former Manchester United and Arsenal forward seemed to take a different stance.
We tried to stick in it until the end, we knew we could create some opportunities and in the end, we got a soft penalty, but it s one that we ll take, Welbeck told BT Sport.
In today s game, with the VAR, I ve touched the ball before him and wanted to get round him, but he s kicked me and then the ball.
The referee s been over to the screen and made his decision.
