Why Manchester City’s Third Goal Was Cancelled and Dominik Szoboszlai Red Carded
- Hungary international Dominik Szoboszlai was sent off in stoppage time during Liverpool’s clash with Manchester City
- France star Rayan Cherki thought he had sealed a third goal in the 90+13th minute, but it was ruled out
- The result keeps Manchester City in the title race, six points behind leaders Arsenal
Manchester City came back from behind to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield Stadium, setting a unique record on Sunday, February 8.
The Citizens wasted no time in announcing their presence as Erling Haaland almost scored a goal in the opening minute of the first half following an assist from Bernardo Silva.
Source: Getty Images
The Norwegian got another opportunity to score, only for Alisson Becker to deny the forward, with Milos Kerkez scrambling clear from the rebound. The scoreline remained at 0-0 after the end of the first half.
Liverpool's patience was rewarded as Dominik Szoboszlai scored the opening goal for the Reds through a thunderous freekick that left Gianluigi Donnarumma rooted to the spot.
With six minutes to the end of the match, Portuguese midfielder Silva scored an equaliser, setting up the stage for a grand finale.
In the 90+3 minute, Haaland scored his first-ever goal at Anfield through a penalty kick, after goalkeeper Alisson Becker brought down Matheus Nunes inside the area.
Why Szoboszlai was sent off vs Manchester City?
In the 90+13 minutes, Manchester City got an opportunity after Liverpool were dispossessed of the ball.
French international Rayan Cherki launched the ball from the center of the field and rolled it into the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed.
VAR checks indicated that Szoboszlai fouled Halland as the ball went though. The Hungarian player initially held Haaland, which was a foul, but referee Craig Pawson gave an advantage.
In the process, the Norwegian held Szoboszlai back, which was the foul that made the goal get disallowed, but the play was returned to the earlier foul and Szoboszlai was sent off for denying a goal opportunity. The Premier League, in a statement, wrote:
"After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of goal to Manchester City.
Source: Getty Images
"Referee announcement: “After review, there is a careless foul by Erling Haaland, that pulls the shirt of Dominic Szoboszlai. Prior to that, Szoboszlai commits a holding offence that denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity. The final decision is a direct free kick to Manchester City and a red card,” per GiveMeSports.
Legit.ng compiled some reactions, following the referee's decision. Read them below:
@imorhoa_T said:
"Haaland made it so complicated IMO… after the ref play the advantage, Szobo would have cleared the ball and VAR would still have intervened and still gave Szobo a red card and a free kick to city."
@Bigsmallzx wrote:
"The only right decision here was Advantage City and city scores. No need of taking it back to award a free kick 🤦🏾♂️"
Dominik Szoboszlai will miss one game, the punishment that comes from the denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, as Liverpool sit in sixth position.
The Reds' next game is against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday, per Sofa Score.
Man predicts Liverpool vs Manchester City
Legit.ng earlier reported that a popular TikTok user known as Morci22a has turned heads again after releasing his prediction for Sunday’s Premier League showdown between Liverpool and Manchester City.
The game, set for Anfield on February 8, could shape the title race, and the viral tipster believes Man City will edge it 3-2 away from home.
Source: Legit.ng
