MOHAMED SALAH HAS “previous” when it comes to going to ground, says Danny Murphy, but the Liverpool star did not dive late on at Cardiff and deserved the penalty he was awarded.
With the Reds leading the Bluebirds by a solitary goal heading into the final 10 minutes, Jurgen Klopp’s side got the big call they wanted.
Salah tangled with Sean Morrison inside the box, with the Cardiff captain wrapping his arms around the Egyptian before he hit the deck.
Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot, much to the disgust of Neil Warnock who likened Liverpool’s forward star forward to Olympic diver Tom Daley and gave his tumble a “9.9”.
It is not the first time that Salah has sparked debate regarding his theatrics under pressure, but Murphy insists there is no case for him to answer on this occasion.
The former Reds midfielder told talkSPORT: “I think it was a pen.
“The defender has got to hold his hands up and say he was too tight and was grabbing him to too long.
“If you take away Salah’s previous, I don’t think there are too many strikers on the planet who wouldn’t have ended up on the floor with the amount of contact that was made.
“Grabbing a forward continually for that amount of time is always going to end up in a penalty.
“The problem is with Salah’s previous. The fact is he does go down too easily at times, and he’s not on his own by the way.
“If I’m honest, I don’t think he had to go down, but if he hasn’t, he would never have got a penalty.
“He was being grabbed so much that inevitably you’re going to go over. It was silly from the defender, who had a good game until then and Cardiff put in a spirited display.
“But it didn’t really affect the game.”
Salah had wanted to take the spot kick he won, as he seeks to defend the Premier League Golden Boot crown he claimed in 2017-18, but James Milner won that argument.
He converted from 12 yards, wrapping up a 2-0 win for the Reds that lifted them back above Manchester City and to the top of the table – albeit having played a game more than the defending champions.
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