Liverpool may have cruised to victory over Ipswich at Anfield this afternoon, but one moment in the final few minutes will have Arne Slot demanding answers.
The concession of a late goal to Jacob Greaves will have annoyed the Reds boss, whose blood pressure will also have been raised by what happened a few minutes before that consolation for the visitors.
Michael Salisbury had a relatively stress-free day on Merseyside, handing out just two yellow cards, although one of those could – and should – have carried a more severe sanction.
Enciso takes out Endo
In the 81st minute at Anfield, Wataru Endo was about to take possession when he was sent crashing to the ground by fellow substitute Julio Enciso on the Paraguayan’s debut for Ipswich.
Replays showed that the 21-year-old jumped into the challenge and caught the Japanese midfielder in the chest while also crashing into him at head height, with the referee reaching into his pocket to display the yellow card.
Enciso lucky to avoid a red card
The Brighton loanee can thank his lucky stars that he wasn’t sent to the dressing room after his reckless lunge on Endo, with two dangerous points of contact on Liverpool’s number 3.
It wasn’t quite as heinous as Tyrone Mings’ karate kick on Cody Gakpo when Aston Villa drew at Anfield towards the backend of the 2022/23 season, but it still isn’t the type of challenge that we want to see on a football pitch.
It’s worth noting that Sky Sports’ live web commentary on the match – which would’ve been from a neutral perspective – described it as a ‘borderline red’ for Enciso and dubbed the Ipswich midfielder a ‘lucky boy’ for escaping the ultimate sanction from Salisbury.
Endo was somewhat lucky as well that he didn’t incur any discernible injury from that collision, although Slot must still have been furious with what transpired.
It was perhaps Liverpool’s only cause for complaint on what was otherwise a refreshingly comfortable day at Anfield as the Premier League leaders sent out a message to the chasing pack that they’ll take some catching from here.
You can view Encico’s challenge on Endo below, taken from ESPN’s match coverage and shared via @HernanRSotelo_ on X (formerly Twitter):
Enciso debuta en Ipswich y Endo lo sabe pic.twitter.com/iPrO4MXcVV
— Hernán Rodriguez (@HernanRSotelo_) January 25, 2025
According to the official Premier League match center account, Lewis-Skelly was sent off for “serious foul play”
Elsewhere, Enciso was only given a yellow card for this, by the way
Premier League officiating is an absolute farce right now. The inconsistency is ridiculous pic.twitter.com/t5YNIUJeGT
— Sam/FIFA Brit (@FIFABrit) January 25, 2025
