Klopp says Liverpool were denied penalty but makes no excuses for Saints shock

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said it was baffling that the Premier League champions were not awarded a penalty in Monday's 1-0 loss at Southampton and claimed other teams would not have been denied by the officials.

Liverpool fell behind to a second-minute lob by former striker Danny Ings and had a penalty claim dismissed when Georginio Wijnaldum's shot from inside the box was blocked by the hand of Jack Stephens.

The league leaders were left frustrated again when Kyle Walker-Peters went unpunished after bringing down Sadio Mane in the penalty area.

"The best situations we had were with Sadio having the ball at his feet," Klopp told Sky Sports. "For anyone to say he's a diver is the biggest joke ... He had two situations where other teams would get a penalty.

"The handball, I don't know who will explain that to me. In these situations we were unfortunate ... I hear Manchester United had more penalties in two years than I had in 5½ years. I have no idea if that's my fault, or how that can happen.

"But it's no excuse for the performance. We cannot change it, we have to respect the decisions. We can change our performance. That's our focus now."

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said the club had forgotten how to play in the final minutes of games after going three league matches without a win.

"I didn't see that coming, I expected a reaction on the back of two poor performances. We've just seen another one," Carragher told Sky Sports.

"Liverpool's away form this season is so poor ... That's a big worry, in terms of what they're creating away from home. It's nowhere near enough."

Liverpool face Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round on Friday before a league clash against United on January 17.

Ings believes manager Ralph Hasenhuettl's passion for the game has rubbed off on the players and said the Austrian's emotional reaction to the victory was great to see.

Hasenhuettl shed tears of joy and collapsed to his knees at the final whistle after an early Ings strike secured the Saints a shock win over the Premier League champions.

"Yeah, he's very passionate. I think it's great for all of us lads to see because he brings that passion into our game," Ings told Sky Sports.

"You can see in the last few minutes, we're still trying to break forward, still trying to defend with our lives. You see the young lads coming on, sprinting back, trying to get into position. It's not easy to do.

"The manager's got us all working our socks off. It's really paying off this season."

Hasenhuettl said he was delighted with the team's defensive display to secure three points against Klopp's side.

"I'd never taken a point against Jurgen so far. They're so strong and you always believe something can happen. The way we defended was amazing, it was absolutely the perfect evening for us," Hasenhuettl said.

"We've had a few other good wins but today nobody expected to win against such a team." - Reuters