Arne Believes Ball Touched Saka's Hand Before Manchester United's Goal; Liverpool Manager Criticizes Late-Game Collapse

Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes Benjamin Saka's hand touched the ball when Manchester United scored to go 2-0 up in the Manchester Derby, and he criticized his team for failing to address their persistent problem of conceding late goals. Liverpool lost to Manchester United in a Premier League Manchester Derby match on May 3rd. The 2-0 goal proved controversial when there was uncertainty over whether the ball had touched Benjamin Saka's hand before United's finish. However, referee Darren England and the VAR team ultimately ruled that Saka did not handle the ball and allowed the goal to stand.

After the match, Slot addressed the controversial goal, stating: "I think there was a touch on his hand—the ball's trajectory changed, so there must have been contact. But it's no surprise to anyone that when VAR checks these situations, the decision comes out against us. It's happened to us all season. But we have to look at ourselves too, because we lost the individual duel and should have defended better."

The 47-year-old manager also criticized his team for once again failing to protect a lead late in the match, saying: "I don't think anyone would have expected us to lose that game after it was 2-2, or maybe they would have given our entire season. As I've shown many times this season, when we play well or think we can win, we make mistakes. The ball goes to Cody Gakpo, and they finish brilliantly."

Liverpool remains in 4th place in the table with 58 points from 35 matches.