Liverpool coach slams decision to cancel Van Dijk's equaliser against Man City

Liverpool boss Arne Slot criticised the decision to rule out Virgil Van Dijk's goal in the clash against Manchester City, stating that it was a wrong decision.

The Reds suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s side, their fifth Premier League loss in six matches. There was a sliding doors moment in the game when Virgil Van Dijk equalised following an Erling Haaland opener. 

However, the goal was disallowed, and the Cityzens went on to score two more goals to seal a victory which moved them within four points of Arsenal. 

Van Dijk’s well-placed header from a Mohamed Salah corner kick was ruled out because Andy Robertson was adjudged to have influenced Gianluigi Donarumma’s ability to stop the goal while standing in an offside position. 

There have been mixed reactions to the decision, with dissenters arguing that Donnarumma could see the ball and could not save it either way. 

Speaking after the game, Slot stated explicitly that he disagreed with the decision, citing a similar incident involving Manchester City in which the goal was given. 

“I think it's obvious and clear that the wrong decision has been made, at least in my opinion. Because he [Robertson] didn't interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do,” he said, per Goal. 

“Immediately after the game, someone showed me the goal that the same referee allowed City against Wolves last season [John Stones’ last-minute winner]. So, it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag to say it's offside. So, there was clearly communication.

“That could have influenced the game in a positive way for us because in the first half, we were so poor. We would have been lucky going 1-0 down at half-time, let alone if it was 1-1 or 2-1 down. So it has been an influential decision, which is not to say that we then would have had a result over here because you cannot predict how the second half would have gone.”