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Liverpool's 3-2 triumph over Newcastle has sparked calls for a Premier League investigation, according to former PGMOL head, Keith Hackett.
The Reds secured all three points thanks to a last-minute winner from young star Rio Ngumoha. Liverpool seemed set for victory when leading 2-0 with goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike - especially as the hosts were reduced to 10 players after Anthony Gordon was sent off for a challenge on Virgil van Dijk in the first half.
However, the Magpies, missing their unsettled striker Alexander Isak, rallied back, and after Bruno Guimaraes narrowed the gap, substitute Will Osula equalized to make it 2-2.
That looked like securing Newcastle a point, until Ngumoha's precise finish deep into extra time.
Nonetheless, the match has drawn criticism due to the number of stoppages - and the limited time the ball was actually in play. There were 32 fouls penalised during the game, in which Newcastle also lost three players to injury.
Opta statistics reveal that the ball was only in play for 40.8 percent of the match. That's the lowest total for a Premier League game in 15 years, since Stoke defeated Blackburn in February 2010.
Former referees' chief Hackett believes these figures are unacceptable and has urged the Premier League to investigate, although he defended referee Simon Hooper.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: "This is frankly an unacceptable stat – it fails to deliver value for money to the paying fans. I would recommend that the Premier League launch an investigation to determine where time was lost.
"Hooper is an official who likes to keep his interventions to a minimum and create a good game flow. I would suggest that he is not to blame, but clearly can greatly influence the amount of game-time by ensuring the appropriate amount of added time is applied.
"The game has a problem that cannot be overlooked – the Premier League must investigate."
Hackett's opinion comes after Slot complained about the game's lack of flow.
“I'm not too sure if I saw a football match today," said the Liverpool boss. "It was set-piece after set-piece, long throw.
"It didn't have a lot to do with tactics, what I said before the game, but I liked a lot how we stood strong. Very difficult first half hour, 45 minutes, but we didn't collapse at all, we stood strong.
"Going down to 10 men, you would expect that that is a big plus for us, but when a goalkeeper takes every free-kick, then there's not so much help if you are one player up, and that's why it was so difficult for us to bring the 2-0 over the line."
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