Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle criticised the ‘soft’ decision to award Liverpool a 99th-minute penalty in their 2-2 draw, claiming that such officiating would lead to ‘many penalties in the future’.
The Reds, who had been unconvincing for much of the afternoon, rescued a point at the death when substitute Victor Munoz was brought down by Lewis Hall and Dominik Szoboszlai converted.
But Jaissle did not agree with the award, as he said: ‘I think you call it here a ‘really soft one’. If you give that there will be so many penalties in the future. I’m not a fan of that, I have to say. I don’t know if that is good for football. I disagree, but more I cannot say.’
Newcastle led 2-1 thanks to goals from Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock – Cody Gakpo had equalised for the visitors – and they would have been deserved winners on a day of high emotion amid tributes to Kevin Keegan.
‘In the end, I am a bit disappointed,’ said Jaissle. ‘But there is also some brightness, definitely, because the guys were doing an amazing job for over 90 minutes. We are a young squad and they really left their heart on the pitch and this is something we can build on.
‘I’m proud. We are proud to see a unit on the pitch. The guys were trying to do it the intense way that we wanted to play. Front-footed, vertical in our approach. This, after such a short amount of time, I’m really happy. I felt the goosebumps straight away. You get energy from the stands and you just want to deliver it on the pitch. This synergy will be something special.’
Liverpool rescued a point at Newcastle after the Reds were given a ‘soft’ late penalty
Former Newcastle striker Alexander Isak endured a difficult afternoon and, after being booed every time he touched the ball, he skied the one good chance he had in the second half.
New Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola said: ‘I think he expected the atmosphere, so it was not a big surprise for him. He has tried everything, given us good positions on the ball, has had a couple of situations to finish in the box, but not the clearest. I value that he has continued pushing and fighting. It is a good step for Alex.’
He added: ‘We scored at the end so you probably have a better taste, but before the game we wouldn’t have signed for this result.’
