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While it was unfortunate for Liverpool that Ibrahima Konate's header was ruled out for a Hugo Ekitike handball offense, the penalty that led to Dominik Szoboszlai's winner against Inter Milan was a debatable one.
After Alessandro Bastoni momentarily pulled Florian Wirtz's jersey, the referee, Felix Swayer, was sent to the screen. He gave a spot kick upon review, with Szoboszlai keeping his cool to slam the ball past Yann Sommer.
Though few would argue that it was a nailed-on foul on Wirtz- and the Inter Milan players were fuming at the decision - former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett says it was the right call.
"Holding is an offense and the defender is clearly holding the player's shirt," he told Football Insider. "The replay shows the shirt coming away from the player's body.
"It was a stupid action by the defender which allowed the VAR to review and request the referee to go to the screen.
"There is no question that the exaggeration by the Liverpool player is the catalyst for the doubt about the decision. Law 12 is clear that holding is an offense, and that’s what the defender did.
"He held the shirt of the opponent and the decision to award a penalty kick was the correct decision."
That is certainly not the view of Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The former Manchester United star was left fuming at the decision, which he claimed was an unfair reflection on the game.
"I think it was a balanced game and no one deserved to win tonight," Mkhitaryan said live on Amazon Prime Video. "The best result was a draw.
"I don't know how they came up with a penalty that never existed but this is football. We are not happy. If you give a penalty like this, then every contact in the box is a penalty."
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Wirtz made a big difference when he entered the field at the San Siro. The German was only left out of the starting XI because he had started the previous three games, with his minutes being managed.
"Florian came back with an injury from the German national team, had to play three games in seven days, now the fourth one in 10 days is coming up," Arne Slot said.
"So the thinking behind the lineup is there are not so many available, and in my opinion, if you don’t have wingers available — apart from Rio Ngumoha, who’s very young — it's, I think, the most logical thing to do to play with two number nines."
Liverpool.com says: Wirtz showed his class in this game, even if the penalty was fortunate. He should start against Brighton at the weekend, but the packed midfield should remain. The German could be given a freer role alongside Ekitike in attack.
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