Man City's Kyle Walker praises Michael Oliver's 'character' following Liverpool penalty denial at Anfield

Kyle Walker has praised referee Michael Oliver for not 'crumbling' under pressure amid huge Liverpool penalty claims during Sunday's 1-1 draw.

Liverpool and Manchester City shared the spoils in what was a thrilling clash between two title challengers at Anfield. John Stones opened the scoring for City with a brilliantly worked set-piece before Alexis Mac Allister levelled from the spot, following Ederson's foul on Darwin Nunez.

Jurgen Klopp's side piled on the pressure after equalising and felt hugely aggrieved not to have been awarded another penalty when Jeremy Doku caught Mac Allister in the chest when attempting to clear a high ball. Oliver waved away claims and VAR assistant opted against sending him to the screen after reviewing the incident.

“My view is the referee and VAR made a decision on what it is,” Walker told Sky Sports. “I feel the ref refereed it really really well. Once you have the Anfield crowd behind you, he could have crumbled but that shows his experience, that shows his character and it's why he's regarded as one of the best referees in the country at the moment.

“It's not for me to say whether I think it's a pen. If I say it's not a pen there'll be headlines and if I say it is a pen there'll be headlines. I think the VAR checked it, the ref has done it [made the decision] and that's all I’ll say on it.”

The decision not to award Liverpool a penalty has split opinion, but former referee Mark Clattenburg insisted it should have been a spot-kick while Mike Dean labelled Doku 'very lucky' in the immediate aftermath. Klopp was adamant his side should have had the chance to win it, insisting the challenge would have been a foul and yellow card anywhere else on the pitch.

A point-a-piece leaves Arsenal on top of the Premier League going into the March international break after they beat Brentford 2-1 thanks to a late Kai Havertz goal. There is now just one point separating all three title challengers going into the final 10 matches.