Jamie Carragher explains 'true moment' that shows why Liverpool goal should have stood

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Evening Standard

·10 November 2025

Jamie Carragher explains 'true moment' that shows why Liverpool goal should have stood

Virgil van Dijk saw first-half equaliser controversially disallowed as Reds slumped to costly 3-0 loss against Manchester City

Jamie Carragher has explained why he believes that Virgil van Dijk’s controversially disallowed goal during Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat by Manchester City should have stood.

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The influential Reds captain rose above two defenders to emphatically head home Mohamed Salah’s corner after 38 minutes of Sunday’s high-profile Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium, seemingly restoring parity at 1-1 heading towards half-time after Erling Haaland had swiftly made amends for an early penalty miss to give City the lead.

However, the goal was quickly disallowed by referee Chris Kavanagh after a flag raised by assistant Stuart Burt, with Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson having been standing in an offside position in the vicinity of City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma when Van Dijk made contact with the ball.

The referee’s decision was upheld following a VAR check led by Michael Oliver, with the Premier League explaining that Robertson was “in an offside position and deemed to be making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper”.

IFAB’s current football laws state that a player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate should be penalised on becoming involved in active play by “making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball”.

The decision not to allow the goal was described as “obvious and clear the wrong decision” by Liverpool boss Arne Slot, while Van Dijk himself also insisted that his effort should have counted.

A number of pundits agreed with the Reds duo including club legend Jamie Carragher, who believes Donnarumma had crucially already shifted his weight over to his right at the moment the ball travelled over the head of Robertson.

Analysis: Jamie Carragher had his say on Liverpool’s disallowed goal against Manchester City

Sky Sports Premier League/ YouTube

“For me, it’s a goal,” Carragher said on Sky Sports as he analysed the replays. “When you look at it from this angle, you can maybe understand why it’s not been given, you look at Andy Robertson’s position. Is he impacting the goalkeeper?

“There’s a better angle to see this, I’m going to really slow it down. What a lot of people have looked at is when this ball comes to Virgil van Dijk’s head... it’s just left Van Dijk’s head and if you stop it there, I can totally understand why that would be given maybe as offside, because Andy Robertson looks really close to the goalkeeper.

“We’ve got to keep an eye on Donnarumma here and where he shifts his weight. If he’s going to dive, then Andy Robertson is in his way.

“But if we move this on really, really slowly, Donnarumma’s weight is going to his right. He thinks the header from Van Dijk is going to go to his right.

“Look at his foot, he’s moving the opposite way. His foot is now planted, at exactly the time that the ball goes over Andy Robertson’s head.

“So that is the true moment we should be looking at. Not when it leaves Van Dijk’s head, when it goes over Andy Robertson’s head and he makes an action to get out of the way of the ball.”

Wayne Rooney was among the other prominent pundits to state that he thought that Van Dijk’s goal should have stood, with ex-City stalwart Micah Richards describing the decision as “really harsh”.

“I thought it was a goal,” Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show. “I get the rules, but Gianluigi Donnarumma can see it the whole way and he makes the decision to go for the ball and gets nowhere near it.

“I don't think Robertson is standing in front of the keeper. I know he's close to him, but I think he doesn't impact Donnarumma.

“He sees the ball all the way, does a full dive for it and gets nowhere near it, so I thought that should have stood.

“He ducked but he's not in the eyeline of the goalkeeper. He's not affecting Donnarumma's decision.

“His weight is on his right foot and then he's tried to shift quick and dive. He hasn't waited for Robertson to make the decision then dive afterwards.”