Dominik Szoboszlai was sent off in the 113th minute after bringing down Erling Haaland while Rayan Cherki's low shot rolled towards goal from inside the centre circle
Kieran King Sports Writer
19:00, 08 Feb 2026Updated 19:09, 08 Feb 2026
Dominik Szoboszlai and Erling Haaland battle off-the-ball.
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Dominik Szoboszlai and Erling Haaland were involved in a last-gasp tangle.(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Gary Neville has branded the decision to rule out Rayan Cherki's goal and hand Dominik Szoboszlai a straight red card as "killjoy" during Manchester City's dramatic win at Liverpool.
With City leading 2-1, Liverpool pushed and sent Alisson forward in stoppage-time in an attempt to grab a last-gasp equaliser. However, City caught the Reds on the counter-attack and Cherki was left with an open goal as he hit a low shot from inside the centre circle.
And as Cherki's shot was dribbling into the 18-yard box, Erling Haaland sprinted to try and get on the end of it. But Haaland was stopped in his tracks by Szoboszlai, who pulled him back and it led to the City forward then hauling the Liverpool midfielder down.
Dominik Szoboszlai was handed a straight red card against Manchester City
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Dominik Szoboszlai was handed a straight red card against Manchester City(Image: Getty Images)
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While Szoboszlai and Haaland went at it, the ball ended up dribbling across the line and Cherki ran off to celebrate with the City fans as he thought he had scored and sealed a 3-1 win.
But, following a VAR check, it was viewed that the goal should be chalked off and Szoboszlai should instead to handed a straight red card with a one match ban to follow for a professional foul.
Delivering his verdict on the incident, Gary Neville said on co-commentating for Sky Sports: "Talk about killjoy.
"They have just killed one of the great moments of the season. The VAR is saying you cannot ignore the first foul and not give the second one. There isn't a football fan who will say that is a foul!"
Shortly after, a statement from the Premier League read: "#LIVMCI – 90+10’ VAR OVERTURN After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of goal to Manchester City.
"Referee announcement: "After review, there is a careless foul by Erling Haaland, that pulls the shirt of Dominic Szoboszlai. Prior to that, Szoboszlai commits a holding offence that denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity. The final decision is a direct free kick to Manchester City and a red card."
Post-match, Haaland, who ended up proving to be the match-winner with a 93rd minute penalty, said he understood the referee had to follow the rules but felt common sense should have allowed the goal.
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"For me, the referee has to follow the rules," Haaland said. "But to give him three games [error] in the end, I feel bad for him. Just give the goal and don't give a red card, simple as that.
"I think it's the rules and that's just how it is. I don't know. Cherki could have just passed me the ball to score, but he [Szoboszlai] didn't want that and that's how it is."
City held on for less than a minute after Cherki's disallowed goal to seal a 2-1 win and a crucial success in the title race. It leaves them six points behind leaders Arsenal with 13 matches to go.