Decision to disallow Foden goal leaves Pep scratching his head

Pep Guardiola was left confused by the decision to disallow Phil Foden’s goal in Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat to Liverpool 

Foden appeared to have put the Premier League champions ahead early in the second half on Sunday, having lashed home on the rebound following Alisson’s failure to keep hold of Kevin De Bruyne’s pass.

Yet Liverpool were infuriated by what they claimed was a foul on Fabinho from Erling Haaland in the build-up and, despite initially waving play on, referee Anthony Taylor changed his decision after consulting the pitchside monitor.

To compound City’s frustration, Mohamed Salah raced clear in the 76th minute and, having earlier seen a golden opportunity saved by Ederson, clipped a cute finish over City’s goalkeeper to seal the spoils.

Guardiola, though, believes referee Taylor – who let plenty of physical challenges go unpunished through the game – showed inconsistency in the decision to disallow Foden’s goal, with City’s manager seemingly suggesting the fact the match was at Anfield played into the official’s call.

He told Sky Sports: “The referee came to the coaches and said play on, play on. There were a million fouls.

“But after we scored a goal, he decided it is not play on. This is Anfield.”

Of his side’s display, Guardiola had few complaints.

“We had [enough] chances. We had some fantastic chances,” he added.

“All the game we were brave, we played the game we should play and I don’t have any complaints or regrets over how we have done it. We had chances but not enough to [win].”

Guardiola conceded the electric atmosphere at Anfield in the wake of Salah’s goal – a strike that moves the Egyptian ahead of Steven Gerrard into second place in Liverpool’s all-time list of Premier League scorers – made matters more difficult for City, though indicated his team had not found the occasion overwhelming prior to the deadlock being broken.

“After the goal, yeah, it’s Anfield,” Guardiola said. “Before the goal, it was OK.”