Virgil van Dijk thought he had equalised for Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium, only for his header to be ruled out after a VAR review deemed Andrew Robertson offside. The decision sparked immediate debate among commentators and fans alike.
Gary Neville, speaking on co-commentary, was unconvinced by the ruling. 'I'm not convinced he's ever getting near that. I'm not sure he's impeding in terms of his view either,' he said, suggesting Robertson had ducked out of the way and the goalkeeper had a clear sight of the ball.
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean, however, defended the decision, pointing to Robertson's position in the six-yard area in front of the goalkeeper. 'With the way the law is written now, it's so close to the goalkeeper in the goal area, he has to be given offside,' Dean argued.
Neville remained adamant that Liverpool would feel harshly treated, while the Premier League Match Centre issued a statement confirming the decision: 'The referee's call of offside and no goal to Liverpool was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Robertson in an offside position and deemed to be making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper.'
The incident was not the only controversy of the match. Manchester City were awarded a penalty after Jeremy Doku was fouled by Giorgi Mamardashvili, but Erling Haaland's spot-kick was saved. Haaland later scored with a header, and Nico Gonzalez added a deflected second to seal the win for City.
