De Zerbi rages at referees after his side had a half penalty appeal turned down

Last week it was Jurgen Klopp, this week it is Roberto De Zerbi questioning refereeing decisions after his Brighton side drew with Liverpool in a thrilling encounter.

The Seagulls had a penalty appeal turned down in the second half when the ball bounced from Virjil van Dijk’s leg and on to his arm, leaving Brighton manager De Zerbi furious. ‘It was a clear penalty and I told the referee what I thought,’ the Italian said.

De Zerbi was booked by Anthony Taylor for his protests, before Klopp hugged the Brighton boss in a bid to calm him down.

‘I love Klopp,’ De Zerbi said. ‘He can do what he wants because I have big respect. I consider him one of the best coaches in the world. When he says something, 99 per cent I agree with him.’

Klopp returned the compliments to the Italian, who he is yet to beat in four attempts.

‘I have to say I cannot respect more what he’s doing,’ Klopp said. ‘I’m a football lover — the impact he’s had on football should not be underestimated.

‘When he got outraged, I used my age and tried to calm him down. I think he was close to the point of not coming back — I tried to calm him down. He wanted a penalty.’

Despite the refereeing decisions, both managers agreed that a draw was a fair result, though De Zerbi insisted that his side were better.

‘It’s a good point but in the 90 minutes, we played better than Liverpool,’ he said. ‘We conceded two goals in a very bad way. We didn’t understand how we were losing. In general, it was a good game, both teams played well.’

Meanwhile, Klopp admitted that Ryan Gravenberch should have converted from a few yards out at 2-1 to put the game to bed. Instead the Dutchman hit the bar when it looked easier to score.

‘It is clear in the second half we should have scored and made