‘He knows he is guilty’

Micah Richards has claimed the referee made a mistake by not awarding a penalty to Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.

Everton recorded their first win of the Premier League season on Saturday afternoon, beating the Eagles 2-1 at Goodison Park in a match in which the visitors will feel they should have left with more.

Marc Guehi opened the scoring for Crystal Palace after just ten minutes, firing the ball past Jordan Pickford after he was headed towards him from a corner.

The visitors then had several opportunities to press their advantage but were unable to convert as Eberechi Eze pulled the strings for the Eagles.

They paid for their lack of conviction in front of goal in the second half, with Dwight McNeil curling a stunning long-range shot into the top corner before grabbing the ball seven minutes later.

But Palace may be feeling the pinch after Jean Philippe-Mateta was brought down by James Tarkowski in the penalty area as the referee waved on.

Speaking on Saturday night’s Match of the Day, Richards said he believes the England defender did indeed knock him out.

“I think he takes it out on both feet. I think Tarkowski knows exactly what he’s doing. He looks at the referee. He knows he is guilty.” He said.

“It’s at stake. He gets the ball a little bit. He gets both legs if I’m completely honest about the situation.

Top photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

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