Jamie Carragher says Liverpool penalty award at Sunderland was unfair - The Guardian

The Liverpool captain, Jamie Carragher, admitted that his side had benefited from what appeared to have been an incorrect penalty award in their 2-0 win over Sunderland in the Premier League.

The referee Kevin Friend awarded Liverpool a penalty on the advice of his assistant, but it appeared that a challenge by the Sunderland defender John Mensah on Jay Spearing had occurred outside the penalty area. Dirk Kuyt scored from the spot.

Carragher told Sky Sports: "I thought it was a penalty, but then I looked at half-time and I don't think it was, was it? It was just outside. Everyone knows goals change games – up to then it had been pretty even and Sunderland had been putting a bit of pressure on. Every week you can look at different incidents and you can always say it changes the game. Maybe it has gone our way but thankfully we got the other [goal] to make sure so you could say we would still have won 1-0."

That other goal came from the man of the match, Luis Suárez, who drove in a shot from an acute angle, beating the Sunderland goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet, at his near post.

Carragher praised the impact made by the Uruguayan, who joined Liverpool in January but was cup-tied for the Europa League, a competition from which Liverpool were eliminated on Thursday.

"Luis is a top player and he has given everyone a lift," Carragher said. "We missed him this week in Europe."

Sunderland finished the match with 10 men after Mensah was shown a red card for a foul on Suárez.