Richard Keys has hit out at Mohamed Salah for trying to “con” the referee into awarding Liverpool a penalty in their clash with Chelsea.
In an action-packed encounter that saw Liverpool secure a 2-1 victory at Anfield on Sunday, there were several pivotal moments for referee John Brooks, who had a difficult afternoon.
Salah was successful from the spot after Curtis Jones was brought down by Levi Colwill, yet earlier in the game, Salah felt he had been denied a penalty.
The Egyptian’s early fall in the match under Colwill’s challenge was dismissed by Brooks. Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville suggested Salah deserved a yellow card for simulation, while beINSPORTS host Keys took an even stronger stance. All despite replays clearly showing Salah was fouled by Colwill and then shoved to the ground.
Keys argued that Chelsea were unjustly refused a penalty for Trent Alexander-Arnold’s challenge on Jadon Sancho and suggested that Liverpool’s subsequent spot-kick was awarded because Brooks felt compelled to do so.
Chelsea should’ve had a pen before Brooks eventually gave Liverpool one. Sancho’s foot was clearly trodden on Kop end. Pen. Why was there no review? “Keys questioned in his blog, reports the Mirror.“Salah tried to con one out of Brooks before Curtis Jones did.
You could hear Brooks’ mind working ‘damn, I’ve just turned one down l, I’ll have to give this’. Yes, there was contact but it was no more or less than there had been on Sancho. It certainly wasn’t enough to send Jones tumbling.“My first question about his appointment would be why? This was only his second game of the season.
It was too big for him. He was way off the pace. Why give him such a big game when he hasn’t been reffing?”Salah’s confidently taken penalty notched up his seventh goal in 11 matches this season, while marking a significant Premier League milestone.
The Egyptian star has now equalled Jermain Defoe with 162 Premier League goals, ranking him as the ninth-highest scorer in the league’s history.
He’s chasing down the records of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and Chelsea great Frank Lampard, being just 13 and 15 goals behind them respectively. Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher is convinced such achievements will ensure Salah’s commitment to the Reds.
Now sitting as Liverpool’s fifth all-time top scorer with 218 goals, Salah still has some way to go to catch up with Ian Rush’s impressive 346 goals, but Roger Hunt’s second-place tally of 285 is well within his sights.
Keys, though, wasn’t impressed with Liverpool’s victory and dismissed Chelsea’s challenge as less than that of Nottingham Forest, who triumphed at Anfield earlier this season.
Richard keys “It was billed as Liverpool’s first big test of the season. Turns out it wasn’t,” he said.“I thought Chelsea were passive and largely ineffective and that description would sum up Cole Palmer’s contribution as well. I’m a massive Palmer fan, but he had a day to forget – just four shots – none on target and he created only one chance for his team mates.
In total, Chelsea only had two shots on target. Forest provided a much stiffer test – and Liverpool failed that one.“But on this occasion fair play to Liverpool – they beat what was in front of them, despite a series of bizarre decisions from the ref.
