PROOF has emerged that Spurs’ last minute penalty to nab a point at Liverpool should not have stood due to offside, while Wayne Rooney has revealed why Henrikh Mkhitaryan failed at Manchester United.

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PROOF REDS WERE ROBBED

Monday Night Football has proved Tottenham’s last-gasp penalty against Liverpool should not have been given because of an offside in the build-up, but Jamie Carragher has refused to blame assistant referee Eddie Smart for the wrong decision.

After plenty of late drama at Anfield, there was one final sting in the tail for Liverpool as Spurs won a second penalty with their final attack when the assistant referee overruled referee Jon Moss for a Virgil van Dijk challenge on Erik Lamela.

Harry Kane scored from the spot to rescue a 2-2 draw for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, however, using MNF’s cutting-edge technology, Carragher, who was joined by Wayne Rooney in the studio, showed conclusively Lamela should have been flagged for offside just before Van Dijk’s swinging boot came into contact with him.

Prood Erik Lamela was offside in the lead up to Spurs' equaliser (Source: Sky Sports) Source: Supplied

“Is Lamela offside? Yes but look how difficult it is,” Carragher said.

“Let’s not forget he’s looking at when the ball comes off of Fernando Llorente’s head and someone’s foot is two or three inches offside.

“Will I have a go at the linesman for missing it? No, I wouldn’t. It’s one of those you have sometimes have to accept because it’s very, very difficult.”

With no offside given, play went on and Van Dijk was eventually penalised for bringing down Lamela inside the penalty area.

Referee Moss initially waved away the Tottenham appeals but Smart was involved again, this time flagging for a foul and Carragher thinks the assistant referee got that decision right.

“I think it’s a penalty,” the former Liverpool defender added.

“People will try and say he was pulling his foot away, and he was because at the last moment he’s seen him, but there’s still a follow through and you can see the connection. Is it the biggest connection? No. Does Lamela make a meal of it? Yes. Is it a penalty? Yes.

The moment Van Dijk conceded the penalty Source: AFP

“If you are a defender and you are trying to volley the ball away and you don’t touch the ball and you touch the back of an opposition player’s calf, you’ve got a big problem.”

The decisions have cause plenty of debate up and down the country but Carragher had one final word of praise for the officials at Anfield, saying they got the big decision right.

He added: “Some people may not like it but the fact they work as a team I think is good if we are getting to the right decisions.

“I think they are the right decisions but it has split people down the middle. For me, the team of officials have got the right decisions.

“When they look back at the first decision, they will look back and think they could have handled it better but the fact remains they got the right decision.

“They got the big decisions right.”

ROONEY REVEALS WHY MKHITARYAN FAILED AT UNITED

Wayne Rooney has revealed that a lack of freedom was behind Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Old Trafford failure.

The Armenian made just 26 Premier League starts in 18 months for Jose Mourinho’s United, before being sent to Arsenal in place of Alexis Sanchez.

Speaking on Monday Night Football, Rooney said: “I’ve seen it last season in training a lot, he’s a very talented player.”

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has swapped Manchester United for Arsenal Source: AFP

“I think at Manchester United he didn’t get the freedom he really wanted to go and perform, that he had at Dortmund and that style of play that Dortmund played.

“And at Arsenal he’ll have players round him running off the ball, taking the ball and he’ll create goals and score goals. I really do think he’ll kick on,” the former United striker said.

WAYNE’S CARRA SLEDGE

Rooney’s Monday Night Football appearance didn’t just contain footballing gems of wisdom, but also included a hilarious opening swipe at co-host Carragher.

After being introduced, the striker wasted no time in roasting his co-host.

“It’s great to be here. It’s probably the closest Carra has ever got to me,” he said.

Everton's English striker Wayne Rooney Source: AFP

The Everton attacker has had a crack at the ex-Liverpool defender in the past, making fun of his clothing after his side’s win over Swansea. ““I saw an interview before the game where you two were in your casual gear and I have to say JT was looking okay, But Carra - your top was horrendous.”

Not to be outdone, Carragher hit back in style retorting “a bit like your hairline.”

DEPORTIVO APPOINTS SEEDORF

Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna hired former Dutch player Clarence Seedorf as its coach on Monday for the rest of the season. “I’m happy to have this opportunity to work in football again, in a club with so much history and in a league that gave me so much,” said Seedorf, who played for Real Madrid in the late 1990s.

The former defensive midfielder replaced Cristobal Parralo, who was fired on Sunday, two days after a 5-0 loss at Real Sociedad extended Deportivo’s winless streak to seven matches. The club is 18th in the 20-team Spanish league, in the relegation zone.

Spanish club Deportivo La Coruna has hired former Dutch player Clarence Seedorf as its coach for the rest of the season. Source: AP

“It’s a difficult situation,” Seedorf said. “I like to take on these challenges. It would be easy to go to a place where everything is working well. I can help the club.” After a long playing career at several top clubs, Seedorf made his coaching debut with AC Milan in 2014, staying on the job for a few months. He also had a brief coaching stint in Chinese football in 2016.

“We did a good job at Milan but it was a complicated moment for the club,” Seedorf said.

He said his lack of coaching experience shouldn’t be a problem, noting Zinedine Zidane had even less experience when he took over Real Madrid’s helm. Seedorf played for Milan, Inter Milan, Sampdoria, Ajax, and Brazil’s Botafogo. He won the Champions League five times, two with Madrid, two with Milan, and one with Ajax.

Seedorf starts working on Tuesday, and his first match in command of Deportivo will be on Monday at home against Real Betis.