Manchester City’s flurry of late goals ensured they would keep pace in the Premier League title race with a 2-1 win at Liverpool on Sunday, a match in which an entertaining second half came to a close with chaos and two big calls from the refereeing team led by Craig Pawson.
Pep Guardiola’s side turned a 1-0 deficit around with two late goals, first an 84th minute effort from Bernardo Silva that he hit from close range. City doubled their lead in the third minute of stoppage time when Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson fouled Matheus Nunes in the penalty area, allowing Erling Haaland to convert the spotkick to ensure they would stay within touching distance of Arsenal in the race to win the title.
As both sides charged at either goal to close out the match, though, chaos eventually ensued. Alexis Mac Allister had perhaps Liverpool’s best chance at an equalizer in the 100th minute, forcing an impressive save out of City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to ensure the visitors would maintain their advantage. The ball was played straight back into traffic, though, so Alisson charged forward to help his teammates score. The visitors quickly gained ahold of the ball and from his own half, City substitute Rayan Cherki took a shot and hoped that the slow pace of the ball would still be faster than any Liverpool player who was chasing it.
Haaland and Dominik Szoboszlai, who scored Liverpool’s opener in the 74th minute, chased after the ball, the City player edging out his opponent early on in the sprint. Szoboszlai tugged on Haaland’s jersey to slow him down, successfully doing so but only until Haaland caught up and pulled his jersey moments later, neither of them able to catch up as the ball rolled into the back of the net.
Referee Pawson awarded the goal and City broke into celebrations, the game killed off with moments to spare. Pawson, though, was then prompted by the video assistant referee team to head to the on-field monitor to check if Szoboszlai deserved a red card for the initial tug on Haaland’s jersey.
In the 113th minute, Szoboszlai was issued a red card for denial of a goalscoring opportunity. The fact that he committed the foul before the ball rolled into the back of the net, though, meant that Cherki’s strike was ruled off, Pawson following the letter of the law. It did not impact the end result, though it did cause a delay in proceedings and ensured the game would stretch beyond the seven minutes of stoppage time that were initially awarded by the fourth official.
City, having swept Liverpool in the league for the first time since 1936-37, close out the weekend six points behind league leaders Arsenal, the result potentially causing a momentum swing for Guardiola’s side after a middling start to the new year. Liverpool, meanwhile, finish the weekend in sixth place and are on the outside looking in at the UEFA Champions League berths. They are five points behind fourth-place Manchester United and four behind fifth place Chelsea, with the Premier League set to earn a bonus Champions League spot for next season’s competition because of their strong showing in UEFA’s confident race.
