01 January 2024 , 22:11
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Alan Shearer labelled Diogo Jota "f****** embarrassing" after the Portugal international won a late penalty for Liverpool against Newcastle.
The Reds attacker sprinted clear after a defence-splitting pass and rounded Magpies keeper Martin Dubravka with seven minutes left of the Premier League clash. As he moved past the Newcastle keeper though, Jota fell over, claiming to have been tripped by Dubravka's hands.
Referee Anthony Taylor instantly pointed to the penalty spot and booked the Newcastle star. Mohamed Salah stepped up to bury his penalty into the net and seal a 4-2 win for the hosts to take them three points clear at the top of the table.
But Magpies legend Shearer was left furious with the decision, insisting Jota had conned the referee. He tweeted: "What a great dive that is", alongside two laughing face emojis.
Arsenal icon Ian Wright revealed his confusion at why Jota had decided to go to ground looking for a penalty when he had an open goal gaping. Wright tweeted: "Would rather go down for a penalty than put the ball in an empty net! Seen it all!"
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Shearer then launched a scathing blast of Jota, quote-tweeting Wright's post by writing: "F****** embarrassing". Salah's resulting spot-kick sealed a thrilling win for the league leaders, though Newcastle boss Eddie Howe insisted it should not have been given, telling Sky Sports: “That shouldn’t be given. For me it’s not a penalty."
HAVE YOUR SAY! Did Diogo Jota dive to win the penalty? Comment below.
Diogo Jota has been slammed for the manner in which he won a late penalty for Liverpool against NewcastleThe Egyptian had missed a penalty in the first-half, but recovered to open the scoring four minutes after half-time. Darwin Nunez showed brilliant composure to square the ball for his team-mate to fire in an opener.
But their lead did not last long, as Alexander Isak sprinted through to put the ball past Alisson and equalise for the visitors. With 15 minutes to go, the game sparked into life, with Curtis Jones tapping in after Jota touched a pass across the face of goal to the midfielder.
Cody Gakpo then put Liverpool two goals in front when he bundled the ball home from Salah's cross. There was still time for Sven Botman to close the scoreline, before Salah made sure of the win with his controversial penalty four minutes from time.
The first Liverpool penalty was also somewhat controversial, with Luis Diaz going down under a tackle from Botman. Despite some feeling that Taylor should not have pointed to the spot, Reds legend Jamie Carragher insisted it was a foul.
"I think it was a penalty. If any man who was going to get it was going to be Luis Diaz, I think he has had his best performance in a Liverpool shirt for a long time - he certainly looks back to his best. There is no doubt he goes down late. He makes the decision to go down, and I think he’s right," he told Sky Sports.
"The reason being if you try to stay on your feet there, and you can’t get that shot off, the referee will say you stayed up. I think he’s done the right thing, and I think if you’re a Newcastle supporter, you would want your own player to do that. There was definite contact and it was a definite penalty."