Liverpool’s afternoon against Manchester City turned on a single moment, and the cost of it will be felt beyond Sunday.
With the game goalless and Anfield in full voice, Ryan Gravenberch tripped Jeremy Doku as City broke forward in the 62nd minute.
The Dutchman had already been booked, and the second yellow card sent him off.
Within six minutes City were two goals ahead through Erling Haaland and Doku, and Rayan Cherki added a third on 78 minutes.
Andoni Iraola made clear afterwards that he felt the damage had been done by the first caution rather than the second.
“The first yellow card was just a kick in the toe,” the Liverpool head coach told Sky Sports.
“It was nothing.”
“It was a normal foul.”
Iraola also pointed to how well his side had been playing before the dismissal, saying the momentum had been with Liverpool and the atmosphere inside the stadium had been driving them on.
Whatever the debate over the first booking, the punishment is now fixed.
Under Premier League and FA disciplinary rules, a player sent off for two bookable offences in the same match receives an automatic one match suspension.
Gravenberch will therefore miss Saturday’s trip to Brentford.
The ban is shorter than it could have been.
A straight red card for serious foul play or violent conduct carries a three match suspension, so Liverpool avoid losing him for a longer run of league fixtures.
There is also some relief in the timing.
Domestic suspensions apply only to the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup, so Gravenberch remains available for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to LASK.
He will then sit out the Brentford game before returning for Brighton’s visit to Anfield the following weekend.
His absence still arrives at an awkward moment.
Dominik Szoboszlai missed the City game with a hamstring problem, which is why Gravenberch started in midfield in the first place, and Iraola has already admitted it will be difficult to have his injured players back for midweek.
If Szoboszlai is not fit for Brentford, Liverpool will be without two of their first choice midfielders at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Alexis Mac Allister is likely to anchor the midfield, with James McConnell and Treymaurice Nyoni, both used from the bench against City, among the options to partner him.
The broader picture adds to the pressure.
Liverpool came into the weekend sixth and unbeaten, but they remain on nine points after their first league defeat of the season, nine behind a City side that have won all six of their games.
A trip to Brentford is rarely straightforward, and Iraola will need a reshaped midfield to come through it.
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