Keith Hackett Exclusive: Liverpool ‘extremely lucky’ in win at Bournemouth
Liverpool were incredibly fortunate to be awarded a penalty in the first half of their win over Bournemouth, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that any contact made by Lewis Cook on Cody Gakpo that led to the award of the spot kick was “minimal and accidental”.
Arne Slot’s side faced a tricky task with their trip to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday (1 February), with Bournemouth unbeaten in their last 12 games in all competitions.
Even so, Liverpool were able to take a 1-0 lead in the match thanks to a penalty from Mo Salah, although Hackett believes they should not have been able to do so.
Liverpool man fortunate to win penalty at Bournemouth – Hackett
Having rested a number of senior players for their Champions League clash with PSV in midweek, Slot named a much stronger starting XI for this clash with the Cherries.
Salah was one of them who was unsurprisingly restored to the Liverpool side, and that move paid off for the Reds as he netted a match-winning double to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League.
The first of those came through a penalty that was won by Gakpo, when he was judged to have been tripped in the area by Cook.
On review though, contact from the Bournemouth man appeared to be minimal, and Hackett does not believe there should have been enough for England to point to the spot.
Speaking to Football Insider about the decision to award a penalty to Liverpool in that match, the former referee said:
“When as a referee you’re awarding a penalty kick, you want to be 100% certain. In this situation I feel that Liverpool have been extremely lucky.
“If there is any contact it’s absolutely minimal, it’s accidental. But for me when I look closely the Liverpool forward has clipped his own feet and gone to ground. I would not expect a penalty kick to be awarded in this situation.”
Salah’s second goal was a stunning curling effort from just inside the edge of the area that took him to 21 Premier League goals for Liverpool this season.
With that making it the fifth campaign he has achieved the feat, there will be a growing emphasis on the club to finally agree a new contract with the attacker.
In other news, Liverpool have been tipped to sell one player in the summer under one condition.
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