Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has claimed that Liverpool only prevailed 1-0 at Anfield on Saturday afternoon through "a soft penalty".
After Tyrone Mings was adjudged to have fouled Mohamed Salah inside the area, the Egyptian dispatched the resulting spot kick to seal three points for the home side.
Villa appealed for a penalty soon afterwards when Danny Ings went down under a challenge from Allison Becker, but the referee and VAR opted against giving the visitors a chance for an equaliser.
While acknowledging that he could have adopted a more attacking strategy during the closing stages, Gerrard admitted that he was frustrated with the two penalty decisions.
Speaking to Match Of The Day, Gerrard said: "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.
"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.
"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. We've lost to a soft penalty because if you watch it properly, Tyrone's been fouled first. The disappointing thing is that the referee hasn't gone to look at it.
Gerrard, who had been returning to his former club for the first time as a manager, has now recorded three wins and two defeats from his five games as Villa boss.
Darren Plant
