Published: September 24, 2021 3:15 pm
Last Updated: September 24, 2021 3:19 pm
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has, on Friday afternoon, aimed a less than subtle dig at Jurgen Klopp, in the wake of his side’s penalty woes versus West Ham United.
CR7 at the heart of penalty drama
Solskjaer and co. of course made the trip to the London Stadium last weekend, for a Premier League showdown with the Irons.
And, when all was said and done, the Red Devils emerged victorious from a hectic 90 minutes, courtesy of strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jesse Lingard, as well as a last-gasp David de Gea spot-kick save.
In the aftermath of the clash, however, it was in fact penalties not awarded by referee Martin Atkinson which grabbed the headlines.
This comes with both sides having also been denied the opportunity to net from 12 yards over the course of the 2nd-half.
First up came Tomas Soucek, who looked set to hand West Ham the chance to retake the lead, after being felled by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the Manchester United area.
Much to the bemusement of all watching on, however, Martin Atkinson ultimately came to the decision that it was Soucek who had fouled AWB.
What next? Ah yes, West Ham vs. Man United. This is should be fun……
Let’s say it wasn’t the finest of days for referee Martin Atkinson and VAR Darren England.
Four possible penalties, one given. But how many others should there have been? And why weren’t they given?
— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) September 20, 2021
Then came a pair of close calls involving the visitors.
Both saw star man Cristiano Ronaldo end up grounded in the West Ham box, first after coming into contact with Vladimir Coufal, and a short time later with Kurt Zouma.
Onlookers, again, were left to watch on and ponder exactly how not at least one of the incidents gave way to a spot-kick, with CR7 himself having been understandably perplexed.
Solskjaer thinks Ronaldo should have had two penalties against West Ham 🧐 pic.twitter.com/bVp0jSi8hQ
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) September 20, 2021
‘A big difference’
And, as outlined above, it was this very pair of incidents involving his side’s star man which came to the fore during the latest press conference held by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this afternoon.
Speaking to the media ahead of the club’s meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday, the Manchester United boss was drawn on the recent spot-kick drama stemming from the Reds’ fixtures.
And, after suggesting that United should in fact have been awarded no less than three spot-kicks across their last two outings, Solskjaer took the opportunity to aim a less than subtle dig at Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reacts during the UEFA Champions League match at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, Madrid. Picture date: Tuesday April 6, 2021. (Photo by Isabel Infantes/PA Images via Getty Images)
After the Liverpool boss last season revealed his opinion that the Manchester heavyweights were the beneficiaries of a disproportionate number of opportunities from 12 yards, Solskjaer was today not shy in hinting that his Liverpool counterpart is, as a result, at least in some part to blame for the reduced spot-kick frequency seen in Red Devils games of late:
‘There was a certain manager last year who was starting to worry about us getting pens and after that it seems like the decisions are more difficult to give.’
‘Surely, I’ve seen a big, big difference since then on.’
“A certain manager last year was starting to worry about us getting penalties…” 😒
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has appeared to suggest referees are not giving #MUFC penalties because of a complaint made by Jurgen Klopp last season…
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 24, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 5 | 9 | 13 |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | -3 | 9 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 5 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | Brentford FC | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Watford FC | 5 | -2 | 6 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 5 | -3 | 6 |
| 13 | Arsenal FC | 5 | -7 | 6 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 5 | -3 | 5 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 16 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5 | -3 | 3 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 5 | -7 | 3 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 5 | -7 | 2 |
| 19 | Burnley FC | 5 | -6 | 1 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 5 | -12 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 3 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 3 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 2 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 2 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 2 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 2 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 2 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 2 |
| Rodri | Manchester City | 0 | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 2 |
| Struijk, Pascal | Leeds United | 1 | 1 |
| Tanganga, Japhet | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Barnes, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Ward, Joel | Crystal Palace | 0 | 2 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
| Schar, Fabian | Newcastle United | 0 | 2 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 2 |
| Stephens, Jack | Southampton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 3 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 1 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 1 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
