Southampton: Hasenhuttl criticises bravery of referees at Anfield

A frustrated Ralph Hasenhuttl criticised officials after his Southampton side lost 4-0 to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

The Austrian referred to two decisions made in the game in particular – a picked up backpass from Alisson that went unpunished and a strong penalty appeal that was turned down – when voicing his concerns about officiating at Anfield.

A brace from Mo Salah and further goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jordan Henderson saw Liverpool claim a comfortable victory in the end, but a decision in favour of Saints could have given them a real foothold in the contest.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Hasenhuttl said:

"“You need brave decisions from the referee. To say ‘no goal and penalty’, here at Anfield, that won’t happen. In the first half there was a backpass to the Liverpool goalkeeper [not given], that’s another decision, maybe this is why it’s so difficult to win here. It is a clear penalty and in such moments the game can turn in our direction. Maybe the result is a little high but I would like to watch this game if we went one goal up.”"

After having time to dwell on the result, Hasenhuttl will perhaps be able to see that his team played very well in patches at Anfield.

The last 10 minutes of the first-half in particular saw Saints have a number of efforts on goal and force some defensive mistakes from the normally ultra-composed Liverpool backline.

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Causing concern for the Reds whilst playing attacking football is a lot more than some teams will have done on Merseyside this campaign, and the Saints display even brought high praise from Jurgen Klopp himself.

One thing that Hasenhuttl’s comments here might earn him is a fine from the FA.

The Austrian is right to annoyed about key decisions in the game going against Saints, but suggesting that the officials were biased towards Liverpool in any way could see a charge coming.

On Saturday, Liverpool’s attacking prowess ultimately proved too much for Saints to deal with, but they really shouldn’t be too concerned by losing 4-0.

On Wednesday, there’s a chance to put things right against Spurs and get themselves through to the Fifth-Round of the FA Cup.

Then, with just nine points between them and the magic 40 mark in the Premier League, upcoming fixtures are looking very promising indeed.

Burnley and Aston Villa make the trip to St Mary’s after the top-flight’s winter break, before Saints then face West Ham, Newcastle, Norwich, Arsenal and Watford – an seemingly ideal run of matches to secure safety and push well into the top half of the table.