Man City vs Liverpool referee review: Three major calls Chris Kavanagh completely got wrong
Manchester City claimed a crucial 3-0 win over Premier League title contenders Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
With Arsenal dropping points against Sunderland the previous day, both sides had the chance to close the gap at the top — and it was Pep Guardiola’s team who capitalized.
Despite Erling Haaland missing a controversial penalty — brilliantly saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili — City dominated the first half and struck twice before the break. Haaland opened the scoring with a superb glancing header, and Nico Gonzalez’s thunderous strike doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time.
Liverpool tried to fight back after the interval, but their aggression left them exposed. Jeremy Doku sealed the win with a stunning curling effort into the top corner.
Following the game, Football Insider reviewed three officiating decisions that referee Chris Kavanagh appeared to get wrong:
1. Jeremy Doku’s penalty should not have stood
Doku was a constant threat down the left, troubling Conor Bradley with his pace. He went down easily after slight contact from Mamardashvili, and while Kavanagh initially waved play on, VAR intervened and overturned the call, awarding a penalty. The minimal contact did not justify the decision.
2. Virgil van Dijk’s goal was wrongly disallowed
Liverpool were further frustrated when Van Dijk’s header from Mohamed Salah’s corner was ruled out due to Andy Robertson allegedly obstructing Gianluigi Donnarumma. However, the goalkeeper was unlikely to reach the ball, and the goal arguably should have stood.
3. Josko Gvardiol escaped a clear booking
In the second half, Gvardiol cynically fouled Florian Wirtz to stop a counterattack. Despite handing out six yellow cards in the match, Kavanagh failed to book Gvardiol for what was an obvious caution.
Overall, while Manchester City were worthy winners, several contentious decisions went against Liverpool — something that will no doubt have left manager Arne Slot frustrated.
