Head coach Julen Lopetegui has claimed that Wolverhampton Wanderers were "very unlucky" not to be awarded a penalty during their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors went into the contest at St James' Park with the opportunity to move further than three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
With 20 minutes remaining, Wolves appeared on course to earn a share of the spoils after Hwang Hee-chan cancelled out Alexander Isak's first-half opener.
However, Miguel Almiron, who like Hwang was introduced as a second-half substitute, produced a smart finish from inside the area to secure maximum points for the Magpies.
While Newcastle were deserving of the victory based on general play, Wolves felt that they should have had a penalty when the game remained goalless when Nick Pope made contact with Raul Jimenez inside the penalty area.
After the goalkeeper mis-controlled the ball, Jimenez beat him to it and went down under contract, only for VAR to rule that the referee had not committed a clear and obvious error by not awarding the spot kick.
🗣️ "He's EXTREMELY lucky."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 12, 2023
The Super Sunday panel react to Nick Pope escaping a red card for a foul on Raul Jimenez 💬 pic.twitter.com/yX9a5FVsuf
Although Lopetegui was quick to praise Newcastle after the game, he acknowledged that he felt that his side should have been provided with the opportunity to score from 12 yards.
The Spaniard told Sky Sports: "In the first half they worked through us. For me, we should have had a penalty. We are very unlucky with the referee. We were unlucky against Liverpool and then again today.
"In the second half we improved a lot. We changed a lot of things and were able to get at them.
"It was a pity that we had no changes left to make after they scored. We lost against a very good team."
Wolves, who remain in 13th spot, are next in action when they play host to Leeds United at Molineux on March 18, Lopetegui's side sitting four points ahead of the Yorkshire giants.
Darren Plant
