Klopp And Arteta Speak On Fight During Liverpool Vs Arsenal Match

The two coaches were cautioned with a yellow card in the first half of Liverpool’s 4-0 win over the Gunners after a heated discussion erupted beside the pitch.

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The incident occurred after Sadio Mane and Takehiro Tomiyasu challenged for a header, with the Arsenal manager calling for the Liverpool star to be booked.

Klopp reacted to the complaints from the Arsenal coaching staff and said he is tired of coaches going after Mane.

“It wasn’t the plan – the situation was that Sadio [Mane] goes for a clean heading challenge, no one makes a foul and they get up and for me it’s a bit too obvious that there was nothing,” he said to BBC Match of the Day.

“He’s just a physical player – you can’t do that, it happens too often and it’s not right. When they rise up from the bench it’s difficult to not get up and say something.”

He added: “It was about the situation that it was no foul from Sadio [Mane] but the Arsenal bench went up like it was a red card. I asked what they want in that situation.

“We had to take Sadio off against Atletico [Madrid in the Champions League] because they wanted him to get a yellow card. The referee did really well in that situation – I deserved a yellow card. It wasn’t not OK and that is what I said. It just happened in the moment.

“If it was a harsh challenge we are all like this, but it was nothing, he didn’t even touch him, it was just two players going up in the air. And [Arteta’s reaction] was not okay and that is what I said.”

“Yes I did [speak to Jurgen Klopp after the match] and I congratulated him. These moments are left on the pitch.”

He added in a press conference: “I think the atmosphere was incredible from the beginning. That was it.”