Arne Slot’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City may not have started the 2025/26 Premier League season as strongly as expected, but their meeting at the Etihad was full of controversy — especially regarding the disallowed first-half goal from Virgil van Dijk.
In a fixture that usually features two title contenders at their best, it was Erling Haaland who opened the scoring shortly before the 30-minute mark. Moments later, Van Dijk seemed to have drawn Liverpool level with a commanding header past Gianluigi Donnarumma, who didn’t even react to the attempt.
But Liverpool’s celebrations quickly came to a halt. The referee ruled the goal offside, leaving both players and supporters baffled.
Officials said that Andy Robertson was standing in front of Donnarumma and interfering with his ability to see the play. Replays showed Robertson ducking as Van Dijk’s header went in, yet VAR still upheld the assistant referee’s decision. The Premier League later released a clarification:
“The on-field decision of offside and no goal for Liverpool was checked and confirmed by VAR — Robertson was in an offside position and was considered to be making a clear action that affected the goalkeeper.”
During halftime, Sky Sports analysts Gary Neville and Micah Richards expressed their disbelief, with Neville calling the decision “extremely harsh.”
On social media, Liverpool fans reacted with anger, labelling the call a “robbery” and “a disgrace,” insisting the goal should have stood.
Things got even worse for Liverpool before the break. Bernardo Silva played in Nico Gonzalez near the edge of the box, and his shot deflected off Van Dijk, wrong-footing goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and compounding a disastrous end to the half for Slot’s side.
