Liverpool star Diogo Jota left John Terry and Alan Shearer fuming after the player went to ground to win a penalty when it may have been easier to tuck the ball into the back of the net for his side’s fourth goal against Newcastle on Monday night. The Reds were in scintillating form as they dominated their latest Premier League encounter and won the clash 4-2.
Liverpool had the opportunity to go ahead midway through the first half when Luis Diaz was brought down by Sven Botman in the penalty area. But Mohamed Salah saw his effort palmed away by Magpies goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. Salah eventually gave his side the lead just after the interval, before Alexander Isak hit back for Newcastle five minutes later.
The Reds pushed forward at every opportunity and appeared to be home and dry when Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo both got their names on the scoresheet. But Botman kept Newcastle in the contest courtesy of a strike in the 81st minute.
Liverpool refused to yield as the match entered its latter stages and had the chance to bag a fourth goal when Jota took the ball round Dubravka before appearing to be caught by the Newcastle shot-stopper.
Jota remained on his feet after the contact and was faced with an open goal. But the Portugal striker eventually decided to hit the ground as he gave referee Anthony Taylor a decision to make. Taylor pointed to the spot, with Salah making no mistake with his second penalty as Liverpool moved three points clear of Aston Villa at the top of the table.
After the incident, former Chelsea defender Terry took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: “How on earth is that a penalty? Shocking dive! The worst thing is VAR give it.”
Shearer penned: “What a great dive that is.” And the ex-Magpies striker added: “F****** embarrassing.” Meanwhile, Arsenal icon Ian Wright wrote: “Would rather go down for a penalty than put the ball in an empty net! Seen it all!”
Liverpool have now won 13 of their first 20 Premier League matches this season. And after their latest clash at Anfield, manager Jurgen Klopp told BBC Sport: “It was a sensational game from my team. We started extremely lively. Everyone saw Dubravka or we ourselves made sure the score didn’t get too clear. Super game. I loved so many aspects of the game bar the goals we conceded.
“Unbelievable game. Unbelievable atmosphere. Counter-pressing wise it was for football schools. They have to watch that, take it and keep it. It was everything good.”
