Neil Warnock: Mo Salah produced a 9.9 dive to win Liverpool's penalty

Neil Warnock felt Mo Salah produced a ‘great 9.9 dive’ to win Liverpool a penalty at Cardiff.

Salah threw himself to the ground after being manhandled by Sean Morrison in the Cardiff box, which Warnock felt referee Martin Atkinson ‘didn’t have to give’.

While Morrison clearly had his arms over Salah’s shoulders, the fall to the ground was dramatic and Warnock’s mood was not improved as he felt they could have had a penalty at 0-0.

READ MORE: Liverpool beat Cardiff to return to Premier League summit

READ MORE: Klopp thrilled to avoid ‘proper banana skin’

AS IT HAPPENED: Cardiff 0-2 Liverpool

“We have done really well playing against a team without a weakness, they have top quality around the pitch,” he said.

“Overall I was pleased with the players, we played on the front foot and made it a good game – we are disappointed one or two things didn’t go for us.

“I thought (Sean) Morrison was tugged by (Andrew) Robertson when having a clear header and then a silly penalty he didn’t have to give.

“The last bit was a great 9.9 dive, wasn’t it.”

Asked to expand on the Robertson tug, he added: “Officials should try and get in a position to see that, he just stopped Morrison having a run – that’s good defending if you get away with it.

“Morrison has been pulled from top to toe this season and not had a penalty. It’s a nothing penalty really.”

There was plenty of talk about the dry pitch at the Cardiff City Stadium and whether the hosts had used that as a deliberate ploy to upset Liverpool.

Warnock refuted that, saying: “The groundsman must have thought there was a hosepipe ban, it slowed us down a bit.

“We have got three tough games, we needed things going for us we haven’t had rub of the green in the last few weeks, we fought until the end and the fans are still with us.”