Wolves were beaten 2-1 by Liverpool on Saturday, but one moment in the game has since come under the microscope. Gary O’Neil witnessed his team’s fifth Premier League defeat of the year as Mo Salah and Ibrahima Konate propelled Liverpool to the summit of the standings.
Wolves gave themselves hope in the second half when Rayan Ait-Nouri equalized. However, Liverpool nearly instantly negated that goal. Nelson Semedo challenged Diogo Jota, and Salah scored from the penalty spot with ease.
Naturally, Jota was formerly of Wolves when he was involved in an event in the 35th minute of the match that frightened Dean Ashton, a former Premier League striker.
Dean Ashton says Diogo Jota should have been sent off for Liverpool against Wolves
Wolves’ performance against Liverpool, who appear to have a strong chance of winning the Premier League this year, had some encouraging aspects.
However, the Reds were not at their best at Molineux, and Wolves’ failure to capitalize on their strong moments in the match left many feeling frustrated. Jota contributed to both of Liverpool’s goals. But Dean Ashton believes the Portuguese should not even have been on the pitch to make such a major impact in the game.
The attacker grappled with Wolves captain Mario Lemina in the 35th minute, scraping the midfielder’s calf before standing on his ankle. Lemina needed medical attention, while Jota received a yellow card.
Earlier today, Ashton stated on Sky Sports, “I think this is (a red card).” That’s what breaks your ankle. That seems like a terrible difficulty that wasn’t intended.
Jota, I believe he’s a little out of control. The way the foot rests is awful. However, it landed squarely on his ankle from behind, putting your foot in an uncomfortable posture. You have a quite bad injury there.
“Those are the kinds of things I would prefer not to see in the game right now,” is how I would personally interpret that. That seems like an awful task to be facing, simply by looking at it.
Jota was lucky, and so was Lemina
There was obviously no intent from Jota, but it was definitely a nasty challenge and the Liverpool man was lucky not to get a red card.
Ultimately, he has endangered the safety of Lemina, who was also lucky himself that he did not seriously injure his ankle.
It is a little astonishing, looking back, that Lemina was able to continue and finish the game. Jota was a little lucky, according to former referee Dermot Gallagher, who had previously maintained that the incident did not warrant a red card.
Ashton’s decision was so well-reasoned that even he conceded. The fact that Jota was not dismissed did not surprise Wolves supporters at the time, as they had witnessed their team consistently fail to comply with VAR in the previous two years.
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