Arne Slot Questions Referee's Decision, Proves Liverpool Don't Always Benefit At Anfield

JAKARTA - Liverpool managed to record three points after beating Chelsea 2-1 in the eighth week of the Premier League, Sunday, October 20, 2024.

After the match, Liverpool's manager, Arne Slot, questioned the referee's decision. He wants to prove that the Reds don't always benefit the fairer when playing at Anfield as many people think.

"The fans are very important to us. I don't know if this is something people in England say, but they say that Anfield is an impressive stadium."

"Yes, the referee was a little impressed with the crowd. That's why you get easy decisions that benefit you."

"However, today shows no matter how hard the fans are. The referee just wants to show that he is capable of making the decisions he has to make."

"So it doesn't help us, but it definitely helps our players because they have to work very hard," said Slot.

In that match, referee John Brooks often checked VAR. One of them was an incident in the sixth minute when Tosin Adarbioyo was given a yellow card for pulling Diogo Jota, who threatened to break through Chelsea's defense right after crossing the halfway line.

Liverpool then took the lead after Mohamed Salah converted the penalty in the 29th minute. A penalty was awarded for Levi Colwill's foul on Curtis Jones.

After that, the Reds canceled their second penalty kick towards the end of the first half.

Brooks initially pointed to the spot after Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez collided with Jones in the penalty box.

However, after reviewing the decision by VAR officer Michael Oliver, Brooks then decided no penalties were awarded.

"If every time they cheer so hard when you do tackles, blocks, or Darwin (Nunez) running fast, or all these moments, it will definitely help you mentally."

"It's very important to the players. But unfortunately it didn't happen the way everyone always thought that Anfield always gave you an easy penalty."

"Is that true or not? Today, it shows again that it's not true," Slot said again.

Then, Nicolas Jackson equalized for Chelsea in the 48th minute. The goal was considered offside, but was eventually approved after a VAR review.

Luckily, Liverpool scored the winning goal in the 51st minute through Jones after using Salah's assist.

Liverpool managed to maintain their advantage until the end of the match. The victory returned them to the top of the Premier League.

Slot described the victory over Chelsea as the most difficult in his tenure to date.

"Many other games are difficult, but it's probably the hardest because of the number of quality players they have and the structure they have."

"We have to fight very hard to win this game," said the Dutchman.