Former PL referee believes Liverpool star was 'fortunate' to not get booked for incident in 2-1 Wolves win

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett believes Liverpool's Diogo Jota should've been booked during the Reds' 2-1 win over Wolves on Sunday, February 16. The Merseysiders had a tough home game at Anfield, which saw them take a two-goal lead at half-time.

Matheus Cunha halved the deficit in the 67th minute, but Wolves failed to add another before the final whistle. The Reds had an opportunity to add a third with the team up by two in the 59th minute when Jota went to ground inside the penalty box.

However, the decision to award a penalty by the on-field official was overturned on video review. In the replays, it seemed as though the Portuguese forward stuck a leg out and looked for the foul.

Claiming that Jota deserved a yellow for simulation, Hackett told Football Insider:

“The referee was in a good position to judge the challenge. Very good intervention by VAR and the overturn of the penalty kick award. Jota rather fortunate not to be yellow carded for an act of simulation."

“When Jota went to ground and the referee awarded a free kick, that was rightly overturned after a VAR intervention. Why wasn’t Jota yellow carded for an act of simulation?”

Jota has not been a regular in the Liverpool side this season, with injuries curtailing his appearances. Overall, the attacker has played 23 matches across competitions this campaign, bagging eight goals and two assists.

It will be interesting to see whether he plays the Reds' next Premier League match against Aston Villa on Wednesday, February 19.

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta issues title warning to Liverpool after win over Leicester City

Mikel Arteta

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said that his team will give the Premier League title race a real go towards the end of the season. The manager's comments came after the Gunners beat Leicester City 2-0 on Saturday, February 15.

With Liverpool beating Wolves on Sunday, the Reds are top of the table and seven points clear of the north London club. Despite the gap, Arteta responded when asked about the title race (via Sky Sports):

"We really want it. Regardless of what happens or the difficulties we're going to face, we're going to give this a real go."

Arsenal will look to close the gap between themselves and Liverpool in the weeks to come. Up next for the Gunners is a game at the Emirates Stadium against West Ham United on February 22.