Iraola criticises inconsistent penalty decisions after Liverpool beat Crystal Palace

Andoni Iraola said he was frustrated by the way penalties were being awarded after Liverpool ended a difficult period with a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

The result, in the 10th round of the competition, moved Liverpool up to fourth place with 18 points, following their previous defeat by Arsenal at Anfield.

“It was an important win for us before the international break, especially after the week we had,” Iraola told Sky Sports.

Liverpool arrived back from Turkey late on Thursday evening, while Crystal Palace had also been in action, making the result particularly valuable to Iraola.

“We arrived very late from Turkey on Thursday evening, and I know they also played, so it was important for us to finish this period with a win,” he said.

Iraola was unhappy with the penalty awarded to Crystal Palace, despite Liverpool having established a 3-0 lead by the 95th minute.

“I’m extremely frustrated because incidents inside our penalty area are being given as penalties, while the same thing does not happen in the other penalty area,” he said.

“I know we were 3-0 up and it was the 95th minute, but I’m extremely frustrated.”

The Liverpool manager added that keeping a clean sheet in the Premier League was difficult and said his side had wanted to complete the match without conceding.

“Keeping a clean sheet is not easy in the Premier League, and we wanted to win 3-0,” he said.

Iraola said finishing a period with a victory would give Liverpool a stronger platform, but stressed that improvements were still required.

“We always want to finish the period with a win. It puts us in a better position, but we need to continue improving,” he added.

His focus has now turned to the international break and the possibility of further injuries. Liverpool lost three players during the previous break.

“Now we are all praying, because we lost three players during the last international break, and that is the last thing we need at the moment,” Iraola said.

“I hope everything goes well and that we do not lose any players this time.”

The defeat left Crystal Palace bottom of the Premier League with seven points. They are level with Manchester United, who are due to play Aston Villa shortly.

Sunderland moved off the bottom after beating Chelsea, taking their total to eight points and moving into 18th place.