Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has admitted Liverpool’s second penalty was a legitimate one on Monday night, despite insisting that he didn’t necessarily “agree” with the decision.
Liverpool made it six consecutive wins over the Magpies on New Year’s Day to put themselves back at the top of the Premier League after their first game of 2024.
Mohamed Salah missed the chance to put his side in front from the spot in the first half, but a flurry of goals after the break including another penalty saw the Reds come away 4-2 winners from an action-packed contest.
Alan Shearer was among those to accuse Diogo Jota of diving to win the second of Liverpool’s spot-kicks, but it transpires that the man deemed to have brought him down believes the right call was made.
The goalkeeper said, as quoted by the Mirror: “My arms are not trying to catch him. I don’t have to agree but at the end of the day it was a penalty.”
Referee Anthony Taylor gave plenty of other excuses to be criticised for his showing at Anfield, but the man closest to the incident was happy to accept that the second penalty wasn’t one of them.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was less willing to accept that particular decision, describing the contact between the goalkeeper and striker as “minimal.”
“I didn’t think the second one was a penalty. And I did think Sean Longstaff’s one before that was,” was his view of the challenge which led to Liverpool’s fourth goal of the game.
“It shouldn’t be given. Martin has pulled his hand away. He’s had two steps before going down. For me, it’s not a penalty. Even the first one the contact was so minimal. We feel hard done by.”
Either way, Liverpool were able to emerge from a fiery affair with the spoils to regain their place at the top of the pile to start the new year.
There was no shortage of talking points and the foul that helped Salah to right the wrongs of his earlier miss from 12 yards was enough to wrap up another vital victory.
A night to forget for Greater Manchester’s Taylor.
