Liverpool’s match against Manchester City ended in dramatic fashion as Dominik Szoboszlai was shown a red card for denying Erling Haaland a goalscoring opportunity. And the striker has now given his thoughts on the decision to send off his opponent.
The Hungarian had put the Reds in front in the second half from a fantastic free-kick, but Bernardo Silva managed to find an equaliser with six minutes of normal time to play. Matters then got even worse for the hosts, as Haaland dispatched a penalty after Alisson brought down Matheus Nunes in the penalty area.
Although that would have been plenty of drama for watching fans, the game then ended in bizarre fashion. City broke at pace after Alisson had pushed up the pitch to help his teammates find a late goal, with Rayan Cherki poking the ball towards goal. Haaland, who was racing through to make sure of the third, was then pulled back by Szoboszlai, before he then pulled the midfielder back, leading to both men tumbling to the turf as the ball trickled over the line.
As visiting fans celebrated, VAR elected to intervene, sending referee Craig Pawson to the screen for a review. The Premier League have since clarified that Szoboszlai had fouled his opponent outside the box before Haaland’s actions disallowed the advantage, leading to a free-kick and a Liverpool red card.
Haaland spoke to Sky Sports after the match, alongside fellow goalscorer Silva and was inevitably asked about the decision to disallow the goal and show Szoboszlai a red card.
The Norwegian, reacting to the verdict, stated that while he accepted the decision was made by the rulebook, he would have preferred the goal to stand and for Szoboszlai to remain on the pitch.
He said: “Of course, the referee had to follow the rules but this will give him three games, in the end I feel bad for him because he gets three games.
“Just give the goal, don’t give a red card. Simple as that but I guess those are the rules.”
Pep Guardiola Also Wanted Goal to Stand
Haaland might well have wished for the goal to stand, but that was a sentiment which also extended to his manager. Pep Guardiola was also asked about the chaos at the end of the game, to which the Spaniard said: “Come on referee, give goal and go home!”
Man City’s head coach also added: “It was a brilliant advert for the Premier League. First half was really good and we lost a bit of momentum in the second half. Anfield can feel like that. After that, we played more direct and after that we lost the ball and we were so passive. What a strike from Szoboszlai and after that, led by our captain Bernardo, we come back.
