Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger backed the referee's decision not to award Atletico Madrid a penalty during their Champions League clash with Liverpool.
With the score in the Spanish capital locked at 3-2 to Jurgen Klopp's side, the referee awarded a penalty after Jose Maria Gimenez fell due to pressure from Reds forward Diogo Jota, but changed his mind after reviewing the incident via the on-pitch monitor.
Liverpool stormed into a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita, however Atletico fought back to go in level at the break thanks to a brace from Antoine Griezmann.
The Frenchman was sent off in the second half for a reckless, high challenge on Roberto Firmino and Salah notched the winner from the penalty spot in the 78th minute after Mario Hermoso brought down Jota in the penalty area.
The decision to overturn the spot kick proved to be costly for Atletico as they now trail the Reds by five points in Group B table, however Wenger is adamant the referee made the right call.
“In my opinion the referee cancelled the penalty rightly so because it’s very difficult to see, it didn’t look intentional," he told be beIN SPORTS.
“It was difficult to detect what was the dive and what was the push, he touched him a little bit but it wasn’t clear, he has to cancel the penalty.”
Next up for Jurgen Klopp’s side is a trip to old rivals Manchester United on Sunday.
