3 awful moments that shaped Liverpool's defeat to Southampton

3 awful moments that shaped Liverpool’s embarrassing defeat to Southampton

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: Ralph Hasenhuttl, Manager of Southampton celebrates victory with his assistant manager Richard Kitzbichler as Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool reacts after the Premier League match between Southampton and Liverpool at St Mary's Stadium on January 04, 2021 in Southampton, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Adam Davy - Pool/Getty Images) /

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Georginio Wijnaldum, Liverpool (Photo by Adam Davy – Pool/Getty Images) /

The eyebrow-raising handball call

Liverpool has been no stranger to conspicuous VAR calls all season, and tonight was no different. In the second half, Gini Wijnaldum’s shot quite clearly hit Jack Stephens’ arm, which definitely wasn’t in a natural position.

We’ve seen penalties like that given before. What makes it worse, is that we’ve seen it given after the implementation of VAR. What makes it even worse is that Joe Gomez was penalised for a very similar situation earlier this season in a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

Referee Andre Marriner waved away protests from Wijnaldum and suggested that if a “clear and obvious” error was made, VAR would overturn his on-field decision. However, what’s “clear and obvious” is still not understood by most stakeholders in the game.

After the game, Jurgen Klopp expressed his frustration about the decision in a post-match interview with the BBC.

"He said: “There was the handball – I’ve no idea. It’s not an excuse for the performance but you can get a point if they are given.”"

Just another day where nothing seems to be going Liverpool’s way.

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