Arne Slot, Virgil van Dijk Disagree Over Blame for Liverpool’s Defeat to Man City

Marc Guéhi found himself under an even brighter spotlight than he expected.

Arne Slot (left) and Virgil van Dijk (right) had different opinions. | Ralf Ibing/firo sportphoto/Getty Images

Arne Slot has accused referees of bias against Liverpool after the Reds were on the receiving end of two tough decisions in Sunday’s 2–1 defeat to Manchester City.

Watching Marc Guéhi avoid a red card for pulling Mohamed Salah back from a shooting opportunity did not sit well with Slot, who argued that incident was worth talking about more than the late controversy which led to Dominik Szoboszlai’s dismissal.

“If the rule is he has to give a red card, then that is what we have to accept,” Slot told BBC Sport of Szoboszlai’s sending off after the final whistle.

“If there’s any incident we should talk about, it should be the one that Mo Salah is one-on-one to the goalkeeper and anyone who has ever been to this stadium in the past seven or eight years knows that is, for Mo Salah, a goal.

“But yeah, not for the first time this season, the referees decided not in our favour. They don’t have to decide in our favour, by the way, they just have to do their job. But all the 50-50s, you already know the answer if you’re the Liverpool manager.”

In his post-match press conference, Slot referenced even more 50-50s that have gone against Liverpool this season as he questioned why the referees stuck so firmly to the rulebook to dismiss Szoboszlai but, in his “angry and frustrated” eyes, were flexible with Guéhi’s challenge on Salah.

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Virgil van Dijk Reluctant to Deflect Blame

A tough day for Van Dijk. | Liverpool FC/Getty Images

While Slot’s focus after the game was on perceived injustices at the hands of referees, Virgil van Dijk opted to look closer to home.

“We have no influence on [the referees],” Van Dijk told Sky Sports. “[Matheus] Nunes’s penalty, he could have given it, he went so fast. We only have ourselves to blame.

“We have to quickly turn our attention to Sunderland because that will be a tough one, unbeaten at home this season. A good challenge ahead.”

Van Dijk added: “The second half maybe felt like a step up but first half we were not in control and should have done better. Unfortunately, the penalty moment was the deciding moment and that is the reality.”

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Guéhi Admits Good Fortune Over Salah Foul

Marc Guéhi (right) avoided a red card for a foul on Mohamed Salah. | Liverpool FC/Getty Images

One centre back who did sympathise with Slot, however, was Guéhi, who could have easily been playing on the other side of Sunday’s game had events in the summer transfer window panned out differently.

Asked bluntly whether he should have been sent off for his challenge on Salah, Guéhi told talkSPORT: “Maybe. It could have been, but that’s not down to me. That’s down to the referees and VAR.

“And if they felt like it was a yellow card, then it was a yellow card.”

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