[ad_1]
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hit back at Jurgen Klopp and accused his Premier League rivals of trying to influence referees by complaining about the number of penalties awarded to Manchester United.
Liverpool boss Klopp has claimed United have had more kicks in two years under Solskjaer than in five and a half years at Anfield.
The figure is actually 46-42 in favor of Liverpool – and 30-27 in the Premier League – but Klopp is the latest Premier League boss to worry about United’s number of penalties.
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho also made a dig at his former club, and Frank Lampard spoke about it before Chelsea faced United in the FA Cup semi-final last season.
When asked about Klopp’s comments, Solskjaer appeared to refer to Rafael Benitez’s infamous rant when United and Liverpool fought for the title in 2009.
“It’s probably a fact,” Solskjaer smiles. “That will probably be my answer. It is a fact that we have more than him.
“I don’t know how many penalties they got. I don’t count the number of penalties they have, so if they want to spend time worrying about when we foul each other in the box, I don’t spend time on that.
United received a total of 22 penalties in all competitions last season, more than any team in Europe’s top five leagues in the previous five years.
This included four games in two against Chelsea, and Lampard raised the issue before his side beat United 3-1 at Wembley in July.
Solskjaer blames referee Mike Dean’s refusal to award a penalty for Kurt Zouma’s challenge to Anthony Martial before half-time – even though Bruno Fernandes subsequently scored United’s consolation on the spot – and is wary of officials who are influenced by rivals.
“I can’t speak for the other managers, why they say things like that,” the United boss said.
“Obviously I felt it worked last year in the FA Cup semi-finals because Frank brought it up. We had a tacked penalty that we should have had and didn’t get, so maybe that’s a way of influencing the referees.
“I don’t know but I don’t worry about it. When they foul our players, it’s a penalty. It’s just when it’s inside the box.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
[ad_2]
Source link
