‘Being totally honest’: Micah Richards shares whether VAR should’ve given Tottenham a penalty vs Liverpool

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Micah Richards has told Match of the Day 2 that VAR should have given Tottenham Hotspur a penalty against Liverpool yesterday.

Spurs fell to a 2-1 defeat against Jurgen Klopp’s men after going they went goals behind in the first-half once again. 

Mohamed Salah’s brace in the opening 45 minutes earned Liverpool a huge win in north London. But Antonio Conte’s men felt they should have been awarded a penalty inbetween the goals. 

Ryan Sessegnon raced into the box and appeared to be pushed in the back by Trent Alexander-Arnold. But Andy Madley ignored the appeals and VAR did not advise the referee to review his on-field decision. 

Now, Richards claims that Spurs should have been awarded a penalty and compared the incident to Joao Cancelo’s sending off against Fulham. 

Richards on Tottenham penalty shouts

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Richards was asked if he felt there was enough in the challenge to award Spurs a penalty. 

“Yes, they probably should have, if I’m being totally honest,” he said.

“It was similar to Cancelo’s yesterday. A lot of people will say there’s not that much contact, but he just leans on him.

“I think he [Alexander-Arnold] gets away with one there.”

There did appear to be enough contact for a penalty to be awarded but as Madley didn’t initially point to the spot, it was unlikely that his decision would be overturned.

Spurs will be disappointed after putting in another lacklustre first-half display which left them with a mountain to climb in the second-half.

Antonio Conte’s side nearly rescued a point from the game after Harry Kane grabbed what turned out to be a consolation goal.

Tottenham created plenty of chances throughout the game, with Ivan Perisic rattling the woodwork twice.

But they were unable to repeat the trick of coming from behind and have now conceded the first goal in their last six matches.

Conte will need to address the slow starts as it’s led to successive home defeats in the Premier League in recent weeks.