Daniel Farke's frustration was clear after referee's decision vs Liverpool

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Leeds held Liverpool to a goalless draw at Anfield on New Year's Day, but manager Daniel Farke was left frustrated by referee Chris Kavanagh's decisions, particularly the yellow card shown to Ethan Ampadu

Daniel Farke was not happy with the referee(Image: Getty Images)

Daniel Farke has expressed his dissatisfaction with the yellow card given to Ethan Ampadu, which could potentially give Liverpool's biggest rival, Manchester United, an advantage in the race for Champions League qualification.

Ampadu was penalized for handball during the second half of the uninspiring goalless Premier League draw between the Reds and Leeds at Anfield on New Year's Day.

This marks the midfielder's fifth booking of the league season, resulting in a suspension for the upcoming match against United. Farke voiced his displeasure with referee Chris Kavanagh's decisions throughout the underwhelming match. "I have to calm myself down because I am still struggling to accept that," he said of Amapadu's yellow card.

"When I see in the first half, the foul situation against Anton Stach not given.

"More or less instinctive free-kick, never a yellow card, and to give Ethan a yellow... I have to be a bit careful.

"Lots of adversity. I also don't know where six minutes of added time are coming from. The lads concentrated on what they can influence. Ethan is a key player; we will miss him a lot."

Leeds and Liverpool shared the points on New Year's Day(Image: Getty Images)

A significantly altered Leeds team aimed to stifle Liverpool and managed to limit the Reds to very few opportunities.

And Farke stated: "It was always clear that it would need a special performance today to come away with a point.

"New Year's Day at Anfield is always a special atmosphere against the Premier League champions, unbeaten since November, and to travel here without several key players, we had to show resilience and organised structure.

"It was always clear there would be many moments where we'd have to suffer, and Liverpool would have more possession. But we didn't allow them clear-cut chances; they couldn't hurt us that much.

"After five minutes, we had three corners, and normally you can play 90 minutes here and not get three corners.

"It was a really, really balanced performance, and we come back with a hard-earned point and a clean sheet.

"It's not just good for the table but good for the mood. It's definitely a really good day."

Leeds were missing several regular starters, and Farke added: "Today was proof that we need every player to chip in. There were some impressive individual performances under the circumstances."