"Sometimes the referee just goes by the book" - Thierry henry comments on Alexis Sanchez' red card against Liverpool in the Champions League

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry believes Inter Milan's Alexis Sanchez was unlucky to be sent off against Liverpool, claiming the referee didn’t have practical knowledge of football.

Liverpool hosted Inter Milan in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash on Tuesday night. The Reds, who won the first leg 2-0 at the San Siro last week, conceded a second-half goal, courtesy of a blinding strike by Lautaro Martinez.

A couple of minutes later, Inter's Sanchez was shown his second yellow of the night for a challenge on Fabinho.

Playing with 10 men, the Nerazzurri failed to complete the turnaround and ultimately fell to a 2-1 aggregate defeat.

Speaking about the second yellow, Henry has claimed that Sanchez was unduly punished, as he did not have “time to take the ball away.”

Blaming the referee for only going “by the book” the Frenchman said (via Daily Mail):

“I'm sorry if you've played football and I think sometimes the referee just goes by the book. What are you supposed to do? He gets the ball, your foot is going to go up because you're kicking the ball away.”

The former Arsenal striker added:

“We see on the replay full speed you don't have time to take the ball away by kicking the ball. If he (the referee) plays football that's not a yellow.”

Sanchez’s first yellow came for a rather reckless challenge on Fabinho’s midfield partner Thiago Alcantara.

The former Arsenal and Manchester United star’s dismissal against Liverpool marked his first indirect card suspension since the 2019-20 campaign. The Chilean has never seen a straight red card in his professional career.

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Liverpool star Mohamed Salah hits woodwork twice in defeat to Inter Milan

The Reds’ leading goalscorer of the season, Mohamed Salah, struck the woodwork twice against Inter Milan on Tuesday night.

The forward should’ve scored with his first effort in the 51st minute, but ended up rattling the post from close range with the keeper at his mercy.

His second goal-bound attempt came 24 minutes later when a sumptuous through ball from Sadio Mane set him up for a half-volley. He caught the ball expertly with his weaker right foot but was once again denied by the post.

The star forward was genuinely unfortunate not to find the back of the net for the Merseysiders at Anfield last night.