Jurgen Klopp calls out Martin Atkinson for repeating Man Utd mistake

Jurgen Klopp has accused Martin Atkinson of repeating a mistake which allowed a Manchester United goal in Liverpool's latest victory at Southampton.

The Reds made nine changes but took the Premier League title race to the final day with a hard-fought 2-1 win at St Mary's Stadium on Tuesday night. Nathan Redmond opened the scoring after just 13 minutes, but former Saints loanee Takumi Minamino levelled the contest before a late Joel Matip header kept the pressure on league leaders Manchester City.

Klopp rotated his starting eleven after the FA Cup final went to a penalty shootout just three days' prior, and was full of praise for the performance of his bench players. However, the former Borussia Dortmund boss was left frustrated by referee Atkinson's role in the opening goal.

Klopp was incensed by the decision not to penalise Lyanco for a foul on Diogo Jota, and the move concluded with Redmond stepping inside and beating Alisson from range via a deflection. The Reds boss could not hide his fury on the touchline, although Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believed it was a 50/50 decision.

That did not stop Klopp taking aim at Atkinson in his post-match interview, and recalling a similar incident during Liverpool's 1-1 draw at Manchester United in October 2019. Marcus Rashford fired the Red Devils in front, with the referee allowing the hosts to play on following a collision between Victor Lindelof and Divock Origi.

Speaking following the win over the Saints, Klopp told Sky Sports: "For me, it was a foul. But we have been in a similar situation when Martin Atkinson has not given a foul on one of our players and (Marcus) Rashford scored a goal, it was exactly the same. Afterwards, he