Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet: 'Fouling Mame Biram Diouf paid off'

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has admitted that deliberately fouling Stoke City winger Mame Biram Diouf outside of the penalty area "paid off".

With Liverpool leading 1-0 at the bet365 Stadium, Mignolet stopped Diouf from taking the ball around him and tapping into an empty net, with the Belgian controversially only being handed a yellow card.

Jurgen Klopp has claimed that the stopper only deserved to be cautioned, a view not shared by either Potters boss Mark Hughes or former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher.

Mignolet has suggested that he had no regrets over opting to bring down the Senegalese attacker, claiming that his actions were 'instinctive'.

The 29-year-old is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying: "I had to bring him down really because otherwise it's a goal and then it's 1-1. They had a free-kick to score from but we defended that.

"It is a reaction and a bit of instinct at that moment in time but that is what I thought I had to do. Luckily it paid off. I can't say if I was the last man or not."

Liverpool eventually won the game by a 3-0 scoreline, a result which takes the Merseyside giants into fifth place in the league standings.