Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has defended Daniel Sturridge after Burnley boss Sean Dyche labelled the striker a 'cheat'.
The two managers were seen in heated discussion after Liverpool's 3-1 victory at Turf Moor on Wednesday night.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Dyche voiced his frustration at Sturridge for going down too easily to win a free-kick in the first-half.
“It's funny, he didn't reference Daniel Sturridge's cheating,” Dyche responded when asked about Klopp's comments of the Clarets being too physical.
“I just can't believe Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool fans – and I don't believe they do – would want cheating in the game and sacrifice good, honest challenges.”
Image: Getty Images
However, this prompted Klopp to leap to his striker's defence ahead of their visit of Bournemouth on Saturday.
At his pre-Burnley press conference, Klopp said: “Daniel Sturridge is no cheat.
“I think what Sean tried to do there is to bring up another subject so somebody could speak about that.
“It was a normal situation which can happen, sometimes a striker expects a tackle and tries to avoid it by jumping?
“I can't avoid it if people want to discuss Daniel, but on the other side I said what I had to say about that after the game, and different opinions are allowed obviously.”
The Reds came back from a goal down to beat Dyche's side 3-1, leaving them joint bottom of the Premier League with just nine points.
Klopp will now be hoping his side can keep up their momentum with a victory against Bournemouth at the weekend, with Man City facing Chelsea away from home.
