Arne Slot rips into Liverpool vs Chelsea officials as Arsenal reference made

Liverpool manager Arne Slot couldn’t help but launch a frustrated rant about the decisions against his side in Sunday’s 2-1 win against Chelsea. The Dutchman achieved his 10th win in 11 games as Liverpool boss at Anfield, but he took the chance to explain his animated display on the touchline once the dust settled.

Mohamed Salah’s first-half penalty and Curtis Jones’ 51st-minute winner fell on either side of Nicolas Jackson’s strike to lift the Reds back above Manchester City at the Premier League summit.

It was an emotional affair on Merseyside, during which referee John Brooks handed Slot his first booking since landing in English football this summer.

And Slot expressed his frustration at a series of decisions after full-time, including Tosin Adarabioyo escaping an early red card and the VAR’s decision to deny Liverpool a second penalty.

“It’s not that important anymore because we won, but I think it could have been a crucial decision to overturn the referee’s decision [to award Liverpool a second penalty] on the pitch,” Slot told Sky Sports.

“I couldn’t understand why. And I think if the referee looks at it for a minute, it already shows that the VAR shouldn’t have interfered.

“And even, in my opinion, if you look at it on a screen, you still feel it’s a penalty… That’s me.”

Slot also took issue with Adarabioyo’s sixth-minute booking for dragging Diogo Jota down on the halfway line as the Liverpool forward attempted to latch onto a long ball.

William Saliba saw red in a similar incident on Saturday, which heavily contributed to Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat at AFC Bournemouth.

Slot believes the Chelsea defender was fortunate not to suffer the same fate despite the reporter suggesting it came very early in the match.

He added: “And then there was, of course, the decision of the red card, which I saw yesterday [William Saliba vs AFC Bournemouth], was a red card in a similar situation.

“They are big decisions because penalties and red cards influence the game a lot.

“But it’s also nice that these moments are inside the game because it also creates a lot of energy.

“The fans really stood up today as well. They helped us a lot. That probably comes from these decisions, as well, because they’re just as biased as I am.

“It’s biased, right? So, yeah, in the end, a good win against a very strong Chelsea.”