Liverpool information: Howard Webb’s VAR declare as Reds fume and Arne Slot has ‘misplaced religion’
Liverpool were beaten by Manchester City after a hugely controversial refereeing decision denied the champions an equaliser just before half-time
Liverpool‘s controversial loss to Manchester City marked the second consecutive time that the Premier League champions have entered the international break on the back of a defeat.
The Reds suffered a controversy-ridden 3-0 defeat this past Sunday, their fifth league loss in six matches. Despite appearing to turn a corner with a 2-0 victory against Aston Villa and a 1-0 win over Real Madrid, matters plummeted to a new low at the Etihad Stadium for Arne Slot’s team.
Outplayed by the Citizens but denied an equaliser before the break thanks to the latest VAR storm, the defeat left the Reds in eighth place, eight points behind league leaders Arsenal after just 11 games. With the third international break of the season now underway, Slot is once again under pressure to pull the Reds out of their slump in what has been a disappointing defence of their title.
Here’s all the latest news from Anfield as the Dutch manager faces criticism for seemingly mistrusting one of his summer signings, while one Reds star previously thought his future was elsewhere.
Milos Kerkez verdict
The first few months have been challenging for most of Liverpool’s summer signings, with Milos Kerkez notably struggling to adjust to life at Anfield, reports the Mirror.
Despite being one of the Premier League’s top full-backs last season at Bournemouth, the Hungarian has failed to replicate the form that persuaded the Reds to part with £40million for his services.
The 22-year-old started the campaign as Slot’s preferred left-back ahead of Andy Robertson, but the experienced Scot has reclaimed his position and featured in the last three fixtures across all competitions.
His demotion to the substitutes’ bench has convinced Chris Sutton that he’s fallen out of favour with the manager. Speaking on the BBC’s Monday Night Club podcast, the former Chelsea forward said: “Arne Slot hung his hat on Kerkez at the start of the season, Robertson was out in the cold and, all of a sudden, I think he has lost faith in Kerkez.”
Conor Bradley claim
Following a lacklustre beginning to the campaign for Conor Bradley, the Northern Ireland international has rediscovered his best form recently with standout displays against Aston Villa and Real Madrid.
The 22-year-old was viewed as the Reds’ future successor to Trent Alexander-Arnold, though Jeremie Frimpong’s arrival has cast uncertainty over that possibility.
It was only in May when Bradley penned a fresh four-year deal after establishing himself as a crucial squad player under Jurgen Klopp and now Slot. His breakthrough came during the 2023/24 season, though before that, serious doubts hung over his Anfield prospects during his loan stint at Bolton Wanderers.
Reflecting last year, he said: “They told me that they wouldn’t forget about me when I was out on loan. But at the time, you don’t really believe it. You think, ‘A loan, that’s sort of me done here.’ But you have to keep working hard.
“I played around 50 games for Bolton, and it was the best thing for me at that time. It turned me into what I am now; it changed me from a boy into a man.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity Bolton gave me to go and play so many games there. It got me ready for coming back at Liverpool and giving it my best shot.”
Bradley faced a challenging evening at the Etihad Stadium when pitted against Jeremy Doku, yet he rose to the occasion against the skilful Belgian winger. His display during an otherwise disappointing night for the defending champions earned him glowing recognition from Pep Guardiola.
The City manager remarked: “Conor, the right-back, I was really, really impressed with. Pep Lijnders said he could do everything. I know the game against Madrid how good he was against Vinicius. And Jeremy [Doku] handled it, aggressive with and without the ball. He played an outstanding game.”
New VAR verdict
The Premier League have released the audio that led to the controversial decision to rule out Virgil van Dijk’s goal against Manchester City.
Liverpool were only 1-0 down at the time thanks to Erling Haaland’s deflected header and could have gone into the interval at 1-1, thanks to their captain’s effort. But the goal was chalked off after Andy Robertson was deemed to be an offside position, supposedly impeding the view of City’s shot stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The Premier League have now released the audio of the decision. “Robertson, Robertson, Robertson,” says Stuart Burt, who was the assistant referee. “Robertson’s in the line of vision, right in front of the keeper.
“He’s ducked under the ball. He’s very, very close to him. I think his line of vision. I think he’s been impacted, mate.” And Chris Kavanagh responds: “OK, so offside then?”
“I think offside,” Burt says. The voice of Michael Oliver can then be heard as he analyses the “clear offside position”.
“You’ve got movement,” Oliver adds. “Have you got a high-behind to show how high he is in terms of vision?” The assistant VAR says he’s agrees with the on-field decision as there is an “obvious action.”
“Confirming the offside decision,” Oliver continues. “He’s in an offside position, very close to the goalkeeper and makes an obvious movement directly in front of him.”
Referee chief Howard Webb, claimed that when judging whether Robertson’s action impacted Donnarumma and his ability to save the ball, “subjectivity comes into play”.
Liverpool have contacted PGMOL to question the decision made over the weekend. They have rejected the idea the decision was arrived at for subjective reasons – instead believing it’s criteria based. And they are keen to understand what criteria was reached.
Slot, himself, was furious at the decision: “He didn’t interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do.
“Immediately after the game someone showed me the goal that the same referee allowed – City against Wolves last season [when Bernardo Silva was on the line for a John Stones header].
“So it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag to say it was offside. So there was clearly communication, but as I said that [goal] could have influenced the game in a positive way for us.”
