Unai Emery says Aston Villa were denied a “clear penalty” in the team’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Villa had two penalty appeals waved away by referee David Coote with Emery insisting Pau Torres’ shirt was tugged by defender Conor Bradley in the second half.
Bradley appeared to have hold of Torres’ shirt when marking from a free kick, but Coote and then the video assistant referee (VAR) Paul Tierney dismissed protests from Villa’s players.
While a potential foul on Torres was Villa’s biggest bone of contention, Ollie Watkins went to ground after a challenge from Ibrahima Konate inside the area, but no penalty was given.
“With the VAR, the action of Ollie Watkins and Pau Torres, for me it was clearly a penalty because they pull the shirt of Pau Torres,” said Emery, speaking in his post-match press conference.
“I know in Europe this is a penalty but here in England, they won’t use VAR. In this situation it was clear but I’m always respecting the decision of VAR and accepting it. But for me, with VAR it is a clear penalty and it was a very important, key moment in the game because if we shot the penalty, maybe the match is different.
“I am accepting the result and referee’s decision. I don’t agree.”
A greater emphasis on on-field decisions has been placed on referees this season, with the threshold now higher for VAR intervention, and both Villa penalty appeals fall into this category, as opposed to being clear and obvious errors.
The 2-0 defeat was the first time since May 2023 Villa have lost successive league games and marks four straight losses across all competitions. Emery, however, believes Villa are ”going the right way.“
”We conceded today two transitions, we knew they are strong in transitions with the players they have,“ he said. ”But in 90 minutes, how we played and how some players are progressively getting better, I am confident. Because I think we going the right way.“
Villa return to action against Crystal Palace on November 23 following the international break.
GO DEEPER
The Briefing: Liverpool 2 Aston Villa 0 – Salah stars and Kelleher makes key saves as Slot’s side go five points clear
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