Liverpool’s draw with Arsenal marred by Tsimikas injury: Klopp

LIVERPOOL: Jurgen Klopp admitted Liverpool´s gripping 1-1 draw against Premier League title rivals Arsenal was marred by the serious injured suffered by Kostas Tsimikas when the Reds defender collided with his manager.

Klopp´s side hit back to stay within one point of leaders Arsenal as Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah´s blistering strike cancelled out Gabriel Magalhaes´ early header at Anfield. But the Liverpool boss was left to rue a bizarre incident that led to Tsimikas being ruled out for a lengthy spell with a broken collarbone.

The Greek left-back collided with Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka late in the first half and went sprawling into Klopp, who was right in front of him on the touchline. Klopp went flying but it was Tsimikas who stayed down before being helped to the tunnel holding his shoulder.

It is a setback for Liverpool, who were already without first-choice left-back Andrew Robertson, with a shoulder problem. “It was massively overshadowed by Kostas Tsimikas´ collarbone issue, definitely broken, so he is out for a long time,” Klopp said.

While Klopp was frustrated by Tsimikas´ injury, he took heart from the way his team went toe to toe with Arsenal. “Arsenal has the better start, with a corner and a free kick, they do that really well. We could have done better with the goal,” Klopp said.

“After half time we should have scored. If we would have won? I don´t know but we had the moments, the high press was there too. “Arsenal are really exceptional but for those 20 minutes we had them, we shattered them slightly. We felt that they were shaky and we should have used that.”

Klopp was also infuriated by the VAR decision not to award a first half penalty for what looked a clear handball by Martin Odegaard. “Yes I have seen it. I´m pretty sure someone will come to explain it to me why it was not a handball but I don´t know how?” he said. “How can a guy in an office see that and not come to the conclusion that maybe it could be worth the referee having another look?”