Jurgen Klopp was a relieved man after James Milner’s ‘really long big toe’ came to Liverpool’s recue during their 2-1 victory over Bournemouth.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane secured the Reds all three points after Callum Wilson’s controversial opener, but Ryan Fraser looked certain to deny Klopp a record-breaking victory when he lobbed Adrian in the second-half.
But racing back to deny the Cherries forward was 34-year-old Milner, who stretched to pull off a spectacular goalline clearance and keep the hosts in front.
Klopp told talkSPORT: “The biggest chance fell to Bournemouth, we have to admit that.
“Milly saved our life in that situation with a really long, long, long, long big toe. Great.”
Having lost three of their past four games in all competitions, there were palpable nerves inside Anfield when Wilson netted a contentious opener inside ten minutes.
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The Bournemouth striker appeared to shove Joe Gomez in the build-up, but nothing was given despite a look at the replays, much to the fury of Klopp.
And the German coach insists decisions like that have gone against Liverpool far too regularly of late – but he’s kept quiet to avoid criticism.
He added: “From my point of view, it was a clear foul, I don’t know how it’s not a foul.
“We’ve had a few situations in the last weeks which have been a bit strange but nobody speaks about it after. Nobody mentioned the [Troy] Deeney foul on Trent [Alexander-Arnold, against Watford].
“We can’t mention it because people will say we’re really bad losers. I’m not too good at losing, so we wouldn’t mention it because of that.”
The win ensured Liverpool got their inevitable title charge back on track, with just three more victories required for a first top-flight triumph in 30 years.
