Liverpool manager Arne Slott said it was “clear and obvious” that Virgil van Dijk’s goal should not be ruled out during his side’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
The Liverpool defender thought he had equalized with a header late in the first half, before assistant referee Andy Robertson saw offside obstructing Gianluigi Donnarumma’s vision, while VAR Robertson made a “clear action” in front of the goalkeeper.
Slott later claimed the decision was incorrect, but admitted it was not the reason Liverpool lost the game.
“It’s hard to express my opinion,” Slott said after the game. “It is clear and obvious that the wrong decision was made, at least in my opinion.
“(Robertson) did not interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do. Immediately after the match someone showed me the goal that the same referee had allowed – City vs Wolves last season.”
“So, it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag and say the goal was offside. So there was clear communication, but as I said it could have affected the game in a positive way for us.”
Liverpool have now lost five of their 11 league matches this season and enter the international break in eighth place, eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
“It seems like there are a lot of (defeats),” Slott said in his post-match press conference. “And the last thing I have to talk about now is the title race. We have to focus first on getting results before we can even think about that. The truth is that we are in eighth place now. There is one team that is very far ahead, although City are probably now four points behind Arsenal. The rest are very close.
“I said several times last season, even after we were top at the start, that the best way to judge the league table is of course after 38 games, but the best thing to judge is after 19 games because you played the same opponents.
“Our first focus should be on achieving results, and the last thing we should focus on is the title race.”
