'I have to be careful' - Daniel Farke angry with Chris Kavanagh after Leeds decision that could hurt Liverpool

Daniel Farke

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has questioned the yellow card for Ethan Ampadu that has handed Liverpool’s near rivals Manchester United a potential boost in the race for Champions League qualification.

Amapdu was booked for handball during the second half of the dismal goalless Premier League draw between the Reds and Leeds at Anfield on Thursday evening.

It was the midfielder’s fifth caution of the league campaign and means he will be suspended for the visit of United at the weekend.

And Farke was less than impressed with some of the decisions of referee Chris Kavanagh throughout a forgettable game.

Farke

“I have to calm myself down because I am still struggling to accept that,” he said of Amapadu’s yellow card.

“When I see in the first half the foul situation against Anton Stach not given. More of less instinctive free-kick, never a yellow card and to give Ethan a yellow… I have to be a bit careful.

“Lots of adversity. I also don’t know where six minutes of added time are coming from. The lads concentrated on what they can influence. Ethan is a key player we will miss him a lot.”

A much-changed Leeds set out to frustrate Liverpool and succeeded in restricting the Premier League champions to very few chances.

And Farke said: “It was always clear that it would need a special performance today to come away with a point.

“New Year’s Day at Anfield is always a special atmosphere against the Premier League champions, unbeaten since November, and to travel here without several key players, we had to show resilience and organised structure.

“It was always clear there would be many moments where we’d have to suffer and Liverpool would have more possession. But we didn’t allow them clear-cut chances, they couldn’t hurt us that much.

“After five minutes we had three corners and normally you can play 90 minutes here and not get three corners.

“It was a really, really balanced performance and we come back with a hard-earned point and a clean sheet.

“It’s not just good for the table but good for the mood. It’s definitely a really good day.”

Leeds were without a number of regular starters and Farke added: “Today was proof that we need every player to chip in. There were some impressive individual performances under the circumstances.”

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