Haaland Criticizes VAR After Disallowed Goal in City's Win

Erling Haaland voiced his discontent with the video assistant referee (VAR) after Manchester City's third goal against Liverpool was controversially disallowed, resulting in Dominik Szoboszlai's red card.

In a thrilling finish at Anfield, Haaland played a pivotal role in City's 2-1 victory over Liverpool, a win that keeps their Premier League title hopes alive. Szoboszlai had put Liverpool ahead with a remarkable free kick before Haaland assisted and then scored a penalty in stoppage time to turn the game in City's favor.

Regarding the disallowed goal and Szoboszlai's sending off, Haaland told Sky Sports: "I think the referee has to follow the rules, but if he gets three games for the incident… Just give the goal and don't give red cards, simple as that. It's just how it is."

City's victory reduced Arsenal's lead at the top of the table back to six points, following Arsenal's earlier 3-0 win over Sunderland. A loss for City would have severely dented their title aspirations.

Bernardo Silva acknowledged the significance of the win, stating, "We knew that if we lost, the title race was likely over. They are in a better position but we felt we had to win."

This victory marked City's first at Anfield since 2021 and was the first time they have won consecutive league games against Liverpool in 89 years. Silva expressed relief, stating, "It's been frustrating this year because we could be closer to Arsenal, but today we are very happy."

City's next challenge comes against Fulham on Wednesday, while Liverpool, currently in sixth place, will visit Sunderland the following day.