For the second time in four days Klopp was left raging at the officials after substitute Dominic Solanke’s late goal was ruled out for handball Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reunited the ‘Fab Four’ but his prolific attacking quartet were all distinctly off-key as West Brom held out for a goalless draw at Anfield. Prior to this game the Reds averaged a goal every 23 minutes when Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho were on the pitch but on this occasion they could not find the net in almost four times as long.
For the second time in four days Klopp was left raging at the officials after substitute Dominic Solanke’s late goal was ruled out for handball by an assistant referee having initially been given by referee Paul Tierney. The Reds boss had been unhappy about the award of Everton’s penalty in Sunday’s Merseyside derby and he was equally unimpressed by this decision. The Liverpool boss reformed the Fab Four but they could not break down a well-organised West Brom just a week after firing seven past Spartak Moscow in the Champions League.
After resting Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino for Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Everton, Klopp returned the pair alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to complete the quartet. But the Fab Four drew a blank, which is as rare as the Beatles failing to hit No 1 in the charts in their pomp. Alan Pardew’s West Brom became just the third team to stop the Reds from scoring in the Premier League this season alongside the two Manchester clubs. A mighty feat considering this is a side that had scored 63 goals in 25 games in all competitions this season before last night. Liverpool did have the ball in the back of the net late on when substitute Dominic Solanke bundled home Joe Gomez’s cross but referee Paul Tierney ruled it out for handball.
Klopp was not happy with the decision or the fact there was only three minutes added on at the end. The Kop boss said: “It is twice deflected and I am still not sure. It is for sure chest and then I am not sure if handball. We cannot take the decision back so all good, it is like this. “It must be a really good assistant, he made the decision and he will be happy if it is handball. It was another moment we had no luck. “I asked the referee about the added on time at the end and he said it was right. “We can do better and we have to do better but on a night like this when you are not at your best you need a bit of luck. “That was not our best game tonight but I think we had enough chances to win. We didn’t use them and we have to accept the result.” Anfield was eerily quiet with the visit of the Baggies struggling to get the home crowd going and Firmino squandered a great chance in the 17th minute after Salah played a superb pass into the area.
