Jurgen Klopp admits that he deserved a yellow card for his part in the touchline argument with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Matchday 14 of the Premier League.
The two coaches were cautioned in the first half of Liverpool's 4-0 win over the Gunners after a heated discussion erupted beside the pitch.
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 for an alleged elbow.
MORE: Why Liverpool needs a new forward in January window
Klopp reacted to the complaints from the Arsenal coaching staff and said he is tired of coaches going after Mane.
Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta are HEATED!#LIVARS #MyPLMorning pic.twitter.com/XsVQJuUdut
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 20, 2021
"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," Klopp 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."
Klopp 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.
MORE: Why a big club only signed Virgil Van Dijk at age 26
"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."
Arteta on Klopp confrontation
The atmosphere at Anfield intensified after the incident and the game soon sparked into life, with Mane going on to open the scoring before halftime.
MORE: Time for Arsenal to offload Pepe?
Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Takumi Minamino netted goals of their own in the second half as the Reds took the three points.
But Arteta denies that the spat between him and Klopp had any effect on the game and says the pair had a discussion after the match.
"He was defending his team, I was defending my team, that's it. It doesn't matter," he said.
"Yes I did [speak to Jurgen Klopp after the match] and I congratulated him. These moments are left on the pitch."
Arteta added in a press conference: "I think the atmosphere was incredible from the beginning. That was it."
