'I'm a Liverpool legend - and I disagree with Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk on Michael Oliver'
The official came in for criticism from Virgil van Dijk after the game, with the Reds skipper saying Oliver did not have control of the clash, while Slot was clearly furious with the officiating on the night, earning himself a red card for his post-match protestations.
Liverpool and Slot, as well as assistant Sipke Hulshoff, have all since been charged by the FA for their behavior on the night — but it was an evening that Souness thoroughly enjoyed, and he felt as though Oliver's lenient refereeing contributed to the occasion.
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"The game was a throwback – refereed by an official who played his part in allowing a lot more to go on," he said in his Mail column. "It was the kind of game that has been increasingly lost, because of all the Johnny-come-latelys who have changed our sport into the reduced spectacle it is today – much of it a very hard watch, with the passive football on display, the referee blowing his whistle for every nudge and the tedious simulation that goes on.
"Don't get me wrong, there's a huge amount to like about the modern game. The quality of the modern stadiums. The showbiz razzmatazz. Those stadiums are full and there's never been more football coverage.
"But whether the Johnnies like it or not, people love the kind of spectacle we saw on Wednesday. For those 100 or so minutes, the watered-down aspects of the modern game, which borders on a non-contact sport at times, went out the window."
Souness recalled his playing days and admitted he would have loved to have taken part in the match himself. "What wouldn't I give for just one day back in the kind of midfield cauldron we witnessed in that game," he added. "It was what you lived for.
"Playing against the Peter Reids or the Bryan Robsons, knowing you can rattle their cage and they'll rattle your cage and no way are they not going to come back for more. In those games you were playing against the very best - not just the very best in terms of abilities but in the mental toughness. That was the test. I'd lie awake on a Friday night, looking forward to it."
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