Clattenburg weighs in as Liverpool’s ‘equaliser’ vanishes and City stroll to 3-0

Well then, controversy at the Etihad and a statement win for Manchester City. Liverpool were brushed aside 3-0, but all the chat will be about the moment Virgil van Dijk’s first-half header was rubbed out—an incident that left Arne Slot fuming and set tongues wagging across the country.

The flashpoint: why Van Dijk’s header didn’t stand

Just before the break, Van Dijk powered in a header from Mohamed Salah’s corner, wheeling away as if he’d dragged Liverpool level. Not so. The assistant’s flag went up, and after Chris Kavanagh had a look with VAR’s help, the decision stuck: Andy Robertson was offside and judged to have interfered with Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The league later clarified that the Scot was considered to have made an “obvious action” right in front of the keeper. Robertson ducked under the ball as it flashed past, a split-second move that proved decisive in the officials’ eyes.

Clattenburg’s take: Robertson’s duck doomed it

Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg offered a neat bit of insight afterwards. In his view, Robertson being offside wasn’t the killer on its own—the killer was the way he reacted. Had the full-back taken a step left or right rather than ducking, Clattenburg reckons the goal likely stands. The Scot may not have blocked Donnarumma’s line of sight—there was a defender in there too—but that duck, said Clattenburg, clearly distracted the keeper and tipped it into “interfering with an opponent” territory. Subjective? Absolutely. But that’s the law applied.

City ruthless once the door opened

Up the other end, it was the usual suspect who broke it open. Erling Haaland struck just shy of the half-hour, and City never looked back. Nico Gonzalez made it two with a shot that nicked off a backpedalling Van Dijk—salt in the wound after the chalk-off—and by the 63rd minute Jeremy Doku had wrapped it with a gorgeous, Salah-esque curler after skipping past red shirts. Clinical, composed, City at their cold-eyed best.

Slot’s verdict and the pundits’ chorus

Arne Slot was adamant the officials got it wrong. He wasn’t alone. Gary Neville called it harsh, Micah Richards agreed, and plenty in the gantry felt Liverpool were short-changed. Still, the hard truth is on the scoreboard and in the trend line: Liverpool have already chalked up five league defeats—more than the four they suffered across the whole of last season.

Big picture for Liverpool

There’s a nuance here. You can feel aggrieved about the decision and still admit City had a gear Liverpool couldn’t live with after the opener. The Reds need a reset over the international break, and a bit of cool-headed work on set-piece positioning wouldn’t go amiss. If Robertson repeats that scenario, the fix is simple: get clearly out of the channel, don’t invite the interpretation.

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What’s next

After the break, Liverpool return to Anfield to host Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest, then welcome PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on November 26, before rounding off the month away at West Ham. However you slice the decision drama, Slot’s men need points—and fast—if they’re to keep City in their sights.