Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield as Iraola disputes red card

Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday evening in the sixth round of the Premier League. After the match, Andoni Iraola described two different contests and said he was proud of his players despite Liverpool’s defeat.

“I think it comes down first to the fact that we played two different matches. The first before the red card, and the second after it. For the first sixty minutes, the players were excellent. In the second match, after the red card, Manchester City were better than us,” Iraola told the BBC. He disputed the dismissal and felt Liverpool had played well before it.

The coach also objected to the first booking shown to Ryan Gravenberch, describing it as “just a blow to a toe” and adding: “It was nothing. It was an ordinary foul.” He felt his side had been gaining momentum and called the atmosphere in the stadium “really fantastic.”

Iraola also stressed that Liverpool had allowed few chances in the first half and had begun creating opportunities after the break. But, in his view, pressing Manchester City is already difficult when both teams have 11 players; being a man down changes the match completely.

Despite the defeat, Iraola said he had enjoyed the match and was “very proud” of his team, whose players, he said, had done their best.