Liverpool went atop of the Premier League, momentarily, following a 2-0 win over absolute bottom of the table Fulham. A big reason for their victory today was the referee ruling a Fulham goal offside, a call that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp acknowledges as a bit of good fortune.
Klopp also essentially said the good luck was owed to them, due to a scoring call that didn’t go their way against Arsenal last weekend. Ah, the football gods taketh away, and then the football gods giveth in this case. Reds winger Mohamed Salah scored 13 seconds after Fulham’s goal was disallowed, and Xherdan Shaqiri would provided the Reds second scoring strike.
Liverpool now have 30 points, tied for the most that they have ever had by this point in a season during the Premier League era.
“I saw it once, so I’m not sure. It’s difficult to tell,” the German said of the Fulham offsides call.
“I don’t want to compare it, but we didn’t get a goal against Arsenal. We scored a clearer goal, which was not offside, and didn’t get it. You cannot change it.”
Perhaps it is better to be lucy than good? Or maybe it’s the karma of what goes around come around? Klopp put things in proper perspective.
“The most important thing is reacting in a situation like that. That was brilliant — Alisson, Trent and Mo, done. It was a fantastic situation,” Klopp continued.
“On the other hand, if you watch the situation back, it was a very good routine of Fulham, I have to say. It was difficult to see for the ref, but it was a clear foul on Robbo [Andrew Robertson] because Robbo is the second free man to go there and avoid the cross — and he couldn’t. I’m not sure which Fulham player kept him.”
“We were a bit lucky and, because of Robbo, it’s maybe not 100 percent offside — his heel or whatever. Before that, somebody held him. It’s like it is. We cannot change it, Fulham cannot change it.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.