Jamie Carragher fumes at Liverpool player following decisive error at Anfield

Jamie Carragher was openly critical of Alisson Becker following the decisive penalty incident that handed Manchester City a stoppage-time victory at Anfield on Sunday.

Liverpool had taken the lead through Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning long-range free-kick, but Bernardo Silva restored parity, leaving the sides locked at 1-1 as the game moved into added time — when chaos ensued.

In the 91st minute, Alisson collided with Matheus Nunes inside the penalty area, prompting referee Craig Pawson to award a spot-kick. Erling Haaland made no mistake from 12 yards, scoring what proved to be the winning goal.

The drama did not end there. Rayan Cherki thought he had added another in the dying moments, only for VAR to intervene. The review resulted in Szoboszlai being shown a red card for denying City’s No.9 a clear goalscoring opportunity as both players chased a loose ball towards the line.

Carragher criticises Alisson decision

Speaking on Sky Sports after the final whistle, Carragher questioned Alisson’s judgement, describing the incident as an unnecessary rush of blood that ultimately cost Liverpool the game.

“A lot of Liverpool’s season has been defined by unbelievable mistakes from top-level players,” Carragher said. “Van Dijk at Bournemouth, Alisson today. You just can’t understand how a goalkeeper of his quality makes that decision to give away a penalty.”

A costly error on another frustrating day for the Reds

There were serious questions over whether Alisson even needed to come off his line, with the ball appearing likely to run out for a goal kick before the collision with Nunes.

While the Brazilian may have feared the City midfielder could reach the ball and create a shooting chance, the 33-year-old misjudged the situation and left Pawson with an easy call.

Liverpool were forced to accept responsibility for that error, but several other incidents left a bitter taste. The VAR call that resulted in Szoboszlai’s dismissal was one, while Marc Guéhi also escaped with just a yellow card for pulling Mohamed Salah’s shirt in what could have been deemed a denial of a goalscoring opportunity.

Once again, fine margins went against the Reds. The defeat leaves Liverpool five points behind fourth-placed Manchester United and facing a steep uphill battle to rescue their Champions League hopes after a disastrous weekend on Merseyside.