Friday 1 December 2017 14:17, UK
Jurgen Klopp has admitted that Liverpool were lucky not to have Simon Mignolet sent off in their 3-0 win at Stoke on Wednesday.
With the score at 1-0 to Liverpool, Mignolet brought down Stoke forward Mame Biram Diouf on the edge of his penalty area. Despite seemingly being the last man, the goalkeeper was only shown a yellow card by referee Martin Atkinson.
The decision infuriated Mark Hughes, who suggested that Atkinson should have been stood down this weekend rather than being given another Premier League fixture to officiate.
The Liverpool manager had sympathy for Hughes, saying: "I have to admit we were lucky.
"I was sure it was the right decision because I thought Joe Gomez was in a different position. I didn't realise that it would 100 per cent have been a goal.
"If there was a red card for Simon Mignolet, we could not argue.
"I understand why Mark Hughes is not happy, but I don't think refs need to be punished more."
While Mignolet will be available having avoided a red card, Klopp will be without one of his first-choice defenders for Saturday's trip to Brighton as Joel Matip suffered an injury at Stoke.
He said: "It looks like Joel Matip is out. After the Stoke game he felt something muscle-wise. We have to make the final assessment but it doesn't look like he's ready for tomorrow.
"Adam Lallana is still building up fitness. Ragnar Klavan was ill, hopefully he isn't anymore."
