Steven Gerrard bemoans penalty decisions in Liverpool loss
By Sean Walsh
Steven Gerrard has admitted that while Liverpool were better than his Aston Villa side in their 1-0 loss on Saturday, the tale of the tape was ultimately decided by two differing penalty decisions.
Gerrard returned to Anfield for the first time as an opponent of the Reds, revealing earlier this week he would be happy to become the villain on Merseyside if it meant Villa got a decent result.
His side defended for much of the game, and held their own for over an hour before Tyrone Mings fouled Mohamed Salah in the box, with the Egyptian securing the points from the spot.
However, Gerrard was unhappy that Villa didn't receive their own penalty after Alisson brought down Danny Ings in the final ten minutes.
"I thought Liverpool were better in terms of general play," the 41-year-old told BBC Sport.
"Their style was better than ours, but we’ve done so well to contain them for large periods.
"Ultimately the game has been decided by a penalty. There were two penalty incidents in the game, Liverpool got theirs - if you look at that one, Salah fouls Mings first. We didn’t get ours. It feels harsh.
"It’s always hard to take when you lose football matches. We knew it was going to be a containing job. You have to ride the first 20 to 25 minutes against sides like this.
"We finished the game stronger, with more belief and some good opportunities."
Speaking on Alisson's challenge on Ings, Gerrard added: "If an arm goes anywhere near Alisson, it’s a foul. So why isn’t a foul given for Danny Ings? They are the questions I’d like answering, but I can’t answer them right now."
"In hindsight, I should have thrown a bit more at it a bit earlier, but you have to be careful Liverpool don’t hit you for two, three or four."