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Andy Robertson has said he disagrees with the officials’ decision to disallow what he felt was a perfectly good goal for Liverpool in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
The Reds were second best for long spells at the Etihad and were comfortably beaten by Pep Guardiola’s side. But the outcome of Sunday’s game could have been different had Virgil van Dijk’s goal in the 38th minute been allowed to stand.
The Liverpool skipper rose highest in the area and planted a header beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma, who dived forlornly towards the ball. Yet City was handed a reprieve when the goal was chalked off due to what was believed to be an interference from Robertson, who was standing in an offside position but ducked and allowed the ball to go over his head.
The Premier League claimed Robertson was “deemed to be making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper,” although it was an excuse the Liverpool left-back found difficult to accept.
“I think we scored a perfectly good goal at 1-0, which probably completely changes everything if you go into 1-1 when you maybe don't deserve it,” Robertson told reporters after the game. “Yeah, I don't agree with the excuse they've given.”
Asked what explanation was given for the goal being disallowed, Robertson replied: “I think initially they were looking at whether I was in the eyesight of the goalkeeper. I think everyone can rule that out.
“I think if they say that then there will be obviously bigger problems, but it's clear that I'm not in the eyesight of the goalie, but I think then they kind of change that a little bit and say that obviously the fact that I ducked, but in my opinion, that makes me smaller so it makes it easier for the goalie to see the ball and I don't think the goalie gets it regardless.
“I don't think anyone will disagree with that, but the referee gives it, obviously the linesman gives it as offside, and then it goes to VAR, and you think it's going to be a perfectly good goal, and then they show it [the explanation] on the big screen, which makes us all hugely frustrated.
“But it's difficult for the ref. I felt sorry for the ref. You look for the VAR to kind of help him out. I think now people are saying there's a quite similar example with City from Wolves away last season, and that got given, so it's obviously a grey area.
“Hugely frustrating and it would have got us right back in the game when we probably didn't deserve it; so it was a crucial moment in the game.”
As Robertson indicated, he felt that regardless of the disallowed goal, Liverpool was not deserving of anything from the trip to Manchester and claimed Arne Slot’s side faced City at its devastating best.
“We're hugely disappointed to get beat 3-0 by City, but I think City playing the way they did today beat everyone in the league,” said the Scotland captain.
“In my opinion, if they play like that and the way that they did, they beat everyone in the league. We came up against a really good City team today, but if we're a really Liverpool side today, then the result is probably different, and that's where it comes short.
“We didn't perform to the way we know we can and that's what our frustrations are at. Obviously, 3-0 is not a pretty result. Hugely frustrating, and I'm sure we'll have regrets, but it's now important that this week has been a good week apart from today.
“We were making strides; we put two really good performances in [against Aston Villa and Real Madrid], and I think in parts today we played okay.
“It's important that now we go on an international break, we come back, and then hopefully kick on because we need consistency. I think everyone said that. We need to now go on consistently putting in good performances and, obviously, let's see where that takes us.”
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