Pardew: We were ‘robbed’ by Benteke ‘dive’

Matt Stead

Alan Pardew admits Crystal Palace feel “robbed” after being beaten 2-1 by Liverpool at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

The hosts took the lead through Joe Ledley late in the first half, and were then handed a one-man advantage when James Milner was sent off after an hour.

But Roberto Firmino equalised after a mistake from keeper Alex McCarthy deep in the second half, with Christian Benteke scoring the winner with a last-minute penalty.

Benteke won the spot kick himself after the referee adjudged him to have been fouled by Damien Delaney, but there was minimal contact between the two players, and Pardew was angry after the final whistle.

“I feel like we’ve been robbed a little bit but again maybe we shot ourselves in the foot a bit. When we went down to 10 men maybe we should have pushed on a little bit.

“[Christian Benteke] is looking for it. Our player is pulling out of it. If the linesman gives it for the touch of the knee in the last minute I think it is harsh. Damien Delaney literally pulls out of it and the follow through of his knee gets it. Blimey, that’s tough.

“He [Benteke] certainly made a big meal of it. If it had been us, we would not have got it. I’m frustrated because I looked at the referee. He was not going to give it and then he looked at the linesman who gave it.

“You try to be fair, you try to say ‘be honest’. That touch doesn’t warrant that dive.

“You’ve got to be 100% sure. In super slow motion the knee touches the foot and he goes over like he’s been shot. In the last second of the game, are you going to give a penalty then?”

“Let’s not get into a debate here and you try to antagonise me,” Pardew then said to Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves. “I don’t want to get into a debate about this penalty. That’s my opinion, let’s move on.”