‘Frustrated’ Klopp blames referee for Liverpool’s defeat to Southampton, suggests Man United conspiracy

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had strong words against the match officials after his team’s 1-0 defeat to Southampton on Monday night.

Danny Ings scored in the second minute as the Saints shocked Liverpool and made Klopp’s side winless in three Premier League games.

Klopp claimed several calls unfairly went against his side and hinted that Manchester United are being favoured in what is building up to be an interesting title race.  

“What (referee) Andre Marriner did with Sadio Mane tonight I am not sure is OK to be honest. We cannot change that,” Klopp to Sky Sports, referring to a penalty appeal that was waved away.

 “If anyone ever says Sadio Mane is a diver, that is the biggest joke in the world. Other teams would get a penalty for this. The handball – can someone please explain that to me.

“Manchester United had more penalties in two years than me in five and a half years – but [we have] no excuses for tonight.”

Liverpool were flat in the first half against a spirited Southampton side, but the Reds applied severe pressure after the break in an attempt to break down the resolute Saints.

Klopp’s bemoaned his side’s slow start.

“The start didn’t help,” the German noted. “We’re starting slow in games and it’s not us. We’re probably saying that a few too many times at the minute so that doesn’t help. 

“Second-half performance I thought was very good, but we don’t score again. In the last two games we’ve had some good chances and haven’t put the ball in the back of the net, so that’s another issue. I’d say they were the two main things.

When asked if he could point out why his team started slowly, Klopp replied: “No, because we knew they would come out fast. We knew we needed a quick start but for whatever reason… sloppy passes, causing one or two free-kicks, and you get punished in this league.”

Liverpool have scored just once in their last three Premier League matches against West Brom, Newcastle United and Southampton, earning two draws and Monday night’s defeat at the St Mary’s Stadium.

Klopp is not happy.

“We’re frustrated, disappointed, but that happens in football,” he groaned. “It’s how you deal with it is the main thing, so we’ve got an FA Cup game against Aston Villa and then in the league we’ve got Manchester United so we need to react quickly and bounce back quickly because the last few games, in terms of results, haven’t been good enough.”

Liverpool are still on top of the Premier League, level on points with but Manchester United who have a game in hand.