Ibrahima Konate believes that had Liverpool not had a second-half penalty decision overturned by VAR, then the outcome of their 2-0 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain could have been 'completely different'.
Arne Slot's side crashed out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage on Tuesday evening at Anfield, with a second-half Ousmane Dembele double securing a 2-0 win on the night for the defending champions, completing a comprehensive 4-0 victory on aggregate.
But after holding a commanding two-goal lead from the first leg in France, PSG did not have everything their own way at Anfield, as they came under a period of sustained Liverpool pressure after half-time.
The Reds' concerted efforts appeared to have returned a golden opportunity in the 65th minute when Alexis Mac Allister was adjudged to have been fouled in the PSG penalty area by Willian Pacho, with the referee immediately pointing to the spot.
But before the penalty could be taken, the VAR team sent the official to the pitch-side monitor to review the incident, and he quickly reversed his decision.
It would prove to be a pivotal moment in the match, as Dembele went on to score twice, cementing the Parisians' passage to the semi-finals.
Speaking Amazon Prime Video after the match, Konate, who is out of contract at the end of the season, said: "I think last season we had a penalty like that with, I think, [Diogo] Jota. I don’t remember which game exactly. For me, it was a clear penalty. I was just behind the referee at the VAR, but he didn’t say it’s a penalty. Then, we have to deal with that. But I think at this moment, if we get a penalty and we score, it’s completely different."
Liverpool's spirited second-half assault on their opponents ultimately did not result in a goal, giving the final result over both legs a one-sided appearance.
When asked if the 4-0 aggregate score was a fair reflection of the tie, Konate said: "To be honest, we can say yes and no, because when we played there they had many chances and they only scored two. But we knew at Anfield we can maybe do something special. Today we created many chances and I think on the pitch we were the better team today. That’s why it’s a little bit unfair.
"It’s like the last season when we played [PSG] at home, we created many chances, we had so many opportunities to score, but at the end they had maybe one or two clear chances and they scored. This is football. Sad."
The Reds will now finish the season trophyless and face a battle over the next six Premier League matches to ensure that they qualify for next season's Champions League through their league position.
Liverpool are currently fifth in the table, four points ahead of Chelsea, but face a tough final six matches, most of which are against sides who are also chasing a Champions League spot.
Having won the season with games to spare last time out, Konate admitted that the team's levels had dipped compared to the previous campaign.
"A little bit," he conceded. "After we don’t have to forget what happened this season for us, many things happened and we don’t have to forget that. We bring new players, all of these things.
"But the game of today means a lot of things because against PSG, I think the PSG of this season is a little bit better than the season before and to make a performance like that against them, I don’t say we have to be happy, because we lost, but we have to build from that and realise how good we can be."
