Archive November 9, 2025

Liverpool may have been on the end of a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, but did a pivotal moment dramatically alter the course of the game?

The Premier League champions were 1-0 down at the time following Erling Haaland’s opener just before the half-hour mark.

However, the Reds thought they had equalised in the 38th minute when captain Virgil van Dijk headed home.

The Netherlands centre-back escaped the attentions of Matheus Nunes and met Mohamed Salah’s inswinging corner just outside the six-yard box.

Van Dijk planted a powerful header beyond the dive of City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and ran off in celebration.

However, the assistant referee then decided to raise his flag and a check by the video assistant referee (VAR) determined that Liverpool defender Andy Robertson interfered with play from an offside position and it was disallowed.

Robertson had his back to goal just in front of the line, behind Jeremy Doku, and ducked out of the way of Van Dijk’s header.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot told Sky Sports it was “obvious and clear that the wrong decision has been made” to disallow the goal.

“He didn’t interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do. Immediately after the game someone showed me the goal that the same referee allowed – City against Wolves last season,” he said.

“So it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag to say it was offside. So there was clearly communication, but as I said that [goal] could have influenced the game in a positive way for us.”

Van Dijk said that “the officials are deciding the key decisions” and there was “no point discussing this from my point of view”.

He added: “It doesn’t matter what I say [about the goal] because anything I say will be in the media and the whole international break will be about my comment on the decision.”

Offside is covered by law 11 of the IFAB Laws of the Game 2025-26.

The graphic below clarifies the law and the Premier League’s match centre on X made specific reference to the incident.

The decision to disallow Van Dijk’s goal provoked debate among pundits.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said the goal “should stand” because Robertson was “not in Donnarumma’s line of vision”.

Ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville said during Sky Sports’ commentary he was “not sure” if it should have been chalked off because Robertson was “to the left of Donnarumma” and he was “not convinced” the City goalkeeper “is ever getting near that”.

Former Aston Villa forward Dion Dublin said “Robertson is in an offside position” but crucially was “not in his [Donnarumma’s] eyeline”.

“I have seen it two or three times and if anyone could be in his eyeline it would be Jeremy Doku,” Dublin added.

Subjective offside decisions, those where the player does not touch the ball, are always controversial.

They require interpretation about impact from the officials, and that is often not straightforward.

And Chris Kavanagh, who was the referee for Sunday’s game, knows all about them.

As Virgil van Dijk’s header made its way towards goal, Andrew Robertson ducked to allow the ball to go into the net. The Scotland international was stood offside, and the assistant raised his flag for offside.

This decision was not about line of vision, but “an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball”.

The offside law does not require a referee to think Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma would definitely save it, only that his ability to do so has been affected. It is the ducking motion which is absolutely crucial because it could put doubt into the goalkeeper’s mind about a potential touch.

If Donnarumma had not been stood close to Robertson, or if the Scotland international was not in the six-yard area, the case for offside would have been weak.

But there must be an argument that Donnarumma had been impacted. For that reason, as the on-field team gave offside, it was not likely to be overturned through a VAR review.

It is a borderline call, but still supportable as an on-field decision.

However, officials are advised that it’s usually best to leave complicated subjective offside decisions to the VAR, and if that had happened Liverpool would likely have had an equaliser.

A good comparison is a disallowed Everton goal against Manchester United in March 2020. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s shot was deflected towards goal, and an offside Gylfi Sigurdsson, who was sat inside the six-yard box, withdrew his legs to allow the ball through. The referee? Chris Kavanagh.

We can compare it to a goal which was given through VAR last season. John Stones’ late winner for Manchester City at Wolves was chalked off on the field for Bernardo Silva being in the line of vision of goalkeeper Jose Sa. But while he was close to Sa he wasn’t in front of him and, unlike Robertson, he did not duck out of the path of the ball. The referee? Chris Kavanagh.

Liverpool may have been on the end of a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, but did a pivotal moment dramatically alter the course of the game?

The Premier League champions were 1-0 down at the time following Erling Haaland’s opener just before the half-hour mark.

However, the Reds thought they had equalised in the 38th minute when captain Virgil van Dijk headed home.

The Netherlands centre-back escaped the attentions of Matheus Nunes and met Mohamed Salah’s inswinging corner just outside the six-yard box.

Van Dijk planted a powerful header beyond the dive of City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and ran off in celebration.

However, the assistant referee then decided to raise his flag and a check by the video assistant referee (VAR) determined that Liverpool defender Andy Robertson interfered with play from an offside position and it was disallowed.

Robertson had his back to goal just in front of the line, behind Jeremy Doku, and ducked out of the way of Van Dijk’s header.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot told Sky Sports it was “obvious and clear that the wrong decision has been made” to disallow the goal.

“He didn’t interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do. Immediately after the game someone showed me the goal that the same referee allowed – City against Wolves last season,” he said.

“So it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag to say it was offside. So there was clearly communication, but as I said that [goal] could have influenced the game in a positive way for us.”

Van Dijk said that “the officials are deciding the key decisions” and there was “no point discussing this from my point of view”.

He added: “It doesn’t matter what I say [about the goal] because anything I say will be in the media and the whole international break will be about my comment on the decision.”

Offside is covered by law 11 of the IFAB Laws of the Game 2025-26.

The graphic below clarifies the law and the Premier League’s match centre on X made specific reference to the incident.

The decision to disallow Van Dijk’s goal provoked debate among pundits.

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said the goal “should stand” because Robertson was “not in Donnarumma’s line of vision”.

Ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville said during Sky Sports’ commentary he was “not sure” if it should have been chalked off because Robertson was “to the left of Donnarumma” and he was “not convinced” the City goalkeeper “is ever getting near that”.

Former Aston Villa forward Dion Dublin said “Robertson is in an offside position” but crucially was “not in his [Donnarumma’s] eyeline”.

“I have seen it two or three times and if anyone could be in his eyeline it would be Jeremy Doku,” Dublin added.

Subjective offside decisions, those where the player does not touch the ball, are always controversial.

They require interpretation about impact from the officials, and that is often not straightforward.

And Chris Kavanagh, who was the referee for Sunday’s game, knows all about them.

As Virgil van Dijk’s header made its way towards goal, Andrew Robertson ducked to allow the ball to go into the net. The Scotland international was stood offside, and the assistant raised his flag for offside.

This decision was not about line of vision, but “an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball”.

The offside law does not require a referee to think Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma would definitely save it, only that his ability to do so has been affected. It is the ducking motion which is absolutely crucial because it could put doubt into the goalkeeper’s mind about a potential touch.

If Donnarumma had not been stood close to Robertson, or if the Scotland international was not in the six-yard area, the case for offside would have been weak.

But there must be an argument that Donnarumma had been impacted. For that reason, as the on-field team gave offside, it was not likely to be overturned through a VAR review.

It is a borderline call, but still supportable as an on-field decision.

However, officials are advised that it’s usually best to leave complicated subjective offside decisions to the VAR, and if that had happened Liverpool would likely have had an equaliser.

A good comparison is a disallowed Everton goal against Manchester United in March 2020. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s shot was deflected towards goal, and an offside Gylfi Sigurdsson, who was sat inside the six-yard box, withdrew his legs to allow the ball through. The referee? Chris Kavanagh.

We can compare it to a goal which was given through VAR last season. John Stones’ late winner for Manchester City at Wolves was chalked off on the field for Bernardo Silva being in the line of vision of goalkeeper Jose Sa. But while he was close to Sa he wasn’t in front of him and, unlike Robertson, he did not duck out of the path of the ball. The referee? Chris Kavanagh.

First it was Ivan Toney. Then it was Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. Now it is Igor Thiago.

Brentford seem to have an uncanny knack of replacing one brilliant goalscorer with another.

This season, only Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (14) has scored more goals in the Premier League than Thiago’s eight – after the Brazilian netted twice against Newcastle on Sunday.

Harvey Barnes had opened the scoring at Gtech Community Stadium before Kevin Schade equalised for the hosts.

Thiago coolly netted from the spot to put the Bees in front – and then slotted home late on to seal their 3-1 victory.

His pace, strength and natural goalscoring instinct have helped Brentford climb up to 12th in the table after a tricky start – with five wins from 11 games.

Uncapped by Brazil, Thiago’s form must mean he is on the radar of head coach Carlo Ancelotti – but the 24-year-old is also eligible to play for Bulgaria.

“He has been pretty good, hasn’t he? He is growing in stature and confidence and he has been pretty sensational this season,” said Brentford boss Keith Andrews, who replaced Thomas Frank in the summer.

“We are hungry to achieve and we have a hungry group. That is really important. Thiago is a good example of that.

Thiago turned down the opportunity to represent Brazil at under-23 level in an attempt to keep his international options open.

He has previously expressed a desire to represent the Selecao, telling the Daily Mail: “I’ve always dreamed of being able to play for Brazil.

“I always ask God that when he takes me to the national team, I don’t want to go just for the sake of it. When I get there, I want to stay.”

But competition in attack for Ancelotti’s side is incredibly high – with Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Raphinha among the options.

Other names in the frame include Willian Estevao, Richarlison, Matheus Cunha and Joao Pedro, who are all currently playing in the Premier League.

But with nine goals across all competitions this season – more than of the other players mentioned – Thiago could become impossible for Ancelotti to ignore.

It hasn’t always been plain sailing for Thiago, who was signed for £30m from Club Brugge in July 2024 to replace Brentford’s outgoing talisman Toney.

However, the Brazilian endured an injury-hit first campaign in west London and ended without a goal in eight appearances.

Mbeumo and Wissa were on hand to fill the void with 40 goals between them – but their exits this summer, to Manchester United and Newcastle respectively, sparked fears about the impact on the Bees’ attack.

Thiago appears determined to make up for lost time – and overcoming adversity is nothing new for him.

His father died when he was 13 and as a youngster he spent time working as a bricklayer and at a supermarket – with the possibility of professional football a long way off.

But after playing for Vere FC at a regional level in south Brazil, he moved to professional side Cruzeiro before getting his chance in Europe with Bulgarian side Ludogorets.

His 15 goals helped fire Ludogorets to the Bulgarian title in 2022-23 and he was also named Conference League young player of the season for scoring seven goals as Club Brugge reached the semi-finals last year.