Roberto De Zerbi is in agreement with Jurgen Klopp when he calls for Liverpool star
Brighton and Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi on Jurgen Klopp and Alexis MacAllister ahead of Liverpool’s next Premier League match
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi sympathizes with Jurgen Klopp’s reaction to Liverpool’s VAR controversy against Tottenham Hotspur.
Even with Europa League group play looming, most of the Reds’ coverage has focused on the aftermath of Tottenham’s defeat eight days ago, in which Luis Diaz saw a goal wrongly ruled out for offside.
The Liverpool manager later suggested that a replay would be the fairest course of action after hearing tapes released by PGMOL of the discussions between the officials before the incident.
Now De Zerbi, who has received four apologies for poor decisions since joining the south coast side last October, including one against the Reds last season, has offered his thoughts on the matter.
“Klopp is always a good fit for me and I understand him,” said the Italian. “Because I felt what he felt last week several times when I was in England. I think last season we lost six, eight points because of refereeing mistakes and this season we got another email [after the 6- 1 defeat by Brighton] at Villa Park.
“But that’s the way it is. I think we’ll get a lot of letters this year, too.”
The PGMOL has also recently instructed officials to rein in the behavior of managers, with De Zerbi himself sent off twice in his first year in England, as was his Liverpool counterpart against Tottenham at Anfield in April.
“I’m becoming a very good man on the bench,” continued De Zerbi. “I don’t dispute any of the referee’s decisions, but I don’t sleep either. In Villa Park I watched everything, I saw that the second goal was offside. We have a screen on the bench and in the future I believe I can break the screen.”
As far as refereeing matters go, the Seagulls head coach has finally convinced his club’s supporters with the return of Alexis MacAllister. The midfielder left the AMEX Stadium in the summer and signed for Liverpool after four successful years.
He said: “I think Alexis is a great guy. He was always positive, he was one of the most important players for us to enter the Europa League. He always played with the right attitude, with the right passion.
– After the World Cup he came back with great motivation, he felt our results, emotions, great motivation to reach the European League last season and for me he deserves a wonderful welcome.
