Despite the nature of the loss, Klopp expressed his pride in his squad's gutsy effort that came close to delivering a point in unusual circumstances against a high-flying Spurs outfit.
After a Luis Diaz goal in the first half was incorrectly disallowed and two visitors were sent red in an incident-filled encounter, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was furious as his team fell 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur on a last-second Joel Matip own goal.
After Liverpool had been reduced to 10 men after Curtis Jones was sent for a challenge on Yves Bissouma as a result of a VAR intervention that Klopp felt was unjust, Colombian Diaz scored just beyond the half-hour mark in the Premier League match.
Diogo Jota, a substitute, was also dismissed late in the second half after receiving two rapid yellow cards, but Liverpool's manager felt the first shouldn't have been given because the left back appeared to trip himself.
the offside goal by (Diaz). When you see that, that is not offside. They drew their lines incorrectly, Klopp said. "Mo (Salah) has the ball between his legs. They failed to recognise when Mo passed the ball correctly. It's very difficult to handle.
It's really difficult to accept that we scored an own goal... Curtis steps on the ball and is given the first ever red card. A good tackle. In slow motion, it seems different. He steps on the ball at full speed and runs over it. What bad luck!
"The first yellow (Jota) saw wasn't yellow. When he advances to second, it is difficult to defend with eight outfielders.
Despite the nature of the loss, Klopp expressed his pride in his team's gutsy effort, which came up just short of earning a point in unusual circumstances against a high-flying Spurs squad that has a history of stealing late home victories.
"You need players with a certain mentality if you want to build something, and I saw them today fighting. Pretty special tonight," said Klopp, whose team hadn't lost to Tottenham in 21 league games and hadn't in the previous year.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the organisation that represents referees, later released a statement blaming "significant human error" for the Diaz goal's disqualification.
The PGMOL continued, stating that it would conduct a thorough investigation into the events that led to the blunder. "This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention," it added.
The BBC quoted Virgil van Dijk, captain of Liverpool, as saying that the VAR decision-making process "should be absolutely clear and obvious." I believe there were no lines visible on live television when I saw the still back. Everything is a little odd.
Looking at our fight, our defence, and our camaraderie, it was encouraging to witness. As a captain, it pleases me to see everyone working so hard and supporting one another, as the manager informed us in the locker room. It is terrible to give up an own goal in the final two minutes of play.
Spurs moved up to second as a result, moving one point ahead of Manchester City, and Liverpool dropped one spot to fourth.
