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More than two days after Liverpool lost comfortably to Manchester City, there are still moans about one refereeing decision
Can you believe the nerve of Howard Webb?
A day after Liverpool made an official complaint about Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed goal at Manchester City, the refereeing chief went on television to explain why the decision was made. There would be no apology to Liverpool because, in Webb’s eyes, they hadn’t been on the end of a bad decision.
Cue more outrage and hysteria from many of a Liverpool persuasion more than two days after their team was outclassed at the Etihad. It is easier to have a moan about Chris Kavanagh though.
Even Liverpool staff were quick to jump on Kavanagh, with somebody supplying Arne Slot with evidence of a similar situation he had officiated with a different outcome by the time the Dutchman conducted his post-match interviews. You would like to think that there was nobody in a coaching or analyst capacity who came up with that, given what else they could have been spending their time on.
Unless you are Pep Guardiola and City of course, in which case the more bleating from Anfield about one marginal decision the less they have to worry about Liverpool this season. The reigning champions could yet come back and challenge in a long campaign but the more they are distracted from addressing their real issues from Sunday the harder it will be for them and the bigger advantage City can create.
Guardiola himself had moaned about refs just a week earlier, going as far as to suggest City had been on the end of dodgy calls for a decade. Why Always Me is a popular theory with everyone, it turns out.
That came after a 3-1 win though and the manager has made a point of refusing to let officiating provide an excuse for results. If something goes against you, you simply have to be better.
Liverpool only need to look at City to know how quickly the tables can turn. The Blues were abject in this fixture back in February, so the reversal at the weekend was significant. Having been humbled by most of the decent teams in the league last season, Guardiola’s side appear to have been reinvigorated and ready to challenge again.
Liverpool do not have a summer transfer window to help their own path back to being challengers, but they do have more than £400m of purchases spent since they won the league that are yet to make any kind of impact.
Having put so much into the signings of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, it feels like those two in particular - as well as getting the two new full-backs firing - need to be the focus for Slot to improve Liverpool. Talking about one refereeing decision three days after a 3-0 defeat cannot be.
The more attention there is on Kavanagh and Webb, the happier City and Guardiola will be.
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