Topics: Jurgen Klopp, Paul Tierney, Tottenham, Liverpool, English Premier League
The Anfield boss was not happy with Tierney's performance and made sure to let him know his thoughts.

Yesterday's clash between Tottenham and Liverpool was one of the most exciting 90 minutes of football this season in the Premier League, offering fans everything from breathtaking attacks and shocking misses to rough tackles and a few controversial refereeing decisions.

Speaking of the latter, it's never great when the referees steal the limelight but that was what unfortunately happened in north London, as both Paul Tierney and the official behind VAR were blasted for their performance. 

Two moments in particular stood out, both of which occurred in the first half. The first involved Andy Robertson and Harry Kane, with the Spurs superstar catching the Scottish fullback with his studs in a reckless and dangerous tackle that many felt warranted a sending off.

However, the English captain escaped a red card and was instead merely booked despite Robertson being in danger of breaking his leg from that tackle had he not jumped. VAR refused to get involved and so the Three Lions ace remained on the pitch. What infuriated fans even further is the fact that VAR got involved later on in the game for a horrendous challenge by Robertson despite Tierney deciding to issue only a yellow. This move resulted in the Liverpool defender being shown a straight red, which forced Klopp's men to fight for a draw due to their one-man disadvantage.

Then there was the Diogo Jota penalty claim. After pulling the Merseyside giants level with a lovely header, the Portuguese attacker had a lovely opportunity to give the visitors the lead but was prevented from shooting after being barged from the back by Emerson Royal, who was already on a booking.

The replays showed that the Tottenham defender got no touch on the ball, thus strengthening Liverpool's claim for a spot kick, but Tierney refused to award the penalty and instead waved play on. Even more shockingly, VAR took a look and opted against calling on the match official to review the incident on the screen.

Given all these controversies, it came as little surprise to see Klopp confront the referee straight after the final whistle. The German tactician was already on a yellow due to his animated reaction to that penalty controversy, but this did not prevent him from airing his anger to Tierney. His choice of words were interesting and were fortunately caught on camera as well.

"I have no problems with any referees, only you. You have never played football," the former Dortmund boss could be heard saying.

According to Klopp, Tierney denied Jota a penalty because he felt that the former Wolves attacker stopped on purpose in order to win a foul. However, the German was quick to remind everyone that stopping before taking a shot is a normal occurrence in football.

It will be interesting to see whether the Premier League will take any action against Klopp due to his actions during the game and his comments after the match. As for Liverpool, they have now fallen four points behind league leaders Man City ahead of the festive period.