Ryan Gravenberch saw red during Liverpool's 3-0 loss to Manchester City on Sunday, as Anfield gave the visitors an incredibly frosty reception due to their ongoing financial charges saga
Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch received a red card against Manchester City
Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch received a red card against Manchester City(Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
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Wayne Rooney has called out Ryan Gravenberch over a "stupid" second yellow card against Manchester City on Sunday which saw Liverpool reduced to 10 men. City ran out 3-0 winners over the Reds at Anfield, with Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki quick to capitalise on a numerical advantage and a diminished team via absence and injury.
Liverpool were without a number of key players, with Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Conor Bradley and Giovani Leoni all missing from the squad. And while the Reds gave a good account of themselves in the first-half, matters quickly changed with around 30 minutes of the game left to play as a result of Gravenberch seeing an early exit.
The midfielder was already on a yellow as a result of a soft foul on Elliot Anderson at the start of the second-half, seemingly stepping on the Englishman's foot in the centre-circle as he breezed past his Dutch counterpart. A second and subsequent red came when Gravenberch took all of the man and none of the ball as Doku burst forward on the counter 62 minutes into the match.
City were quick to take advantage of having all 11 men still on the pitch, with Haaland, Doku and Cherki all finding the back of the net in a 3-0 win on the road. Now, Rooney has called out Gravenberch for his decision-making which may have ultimately cost his side the match.
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Speaking on BBC's Match of the Day, the former Manchester United man said: "Well, I think the first yellow card is harsh. I think it's, he's obviously gone for the ball, it's a poor touch by Elliot Anderson, and then he just nicks him, catches him on the top of his foot and he goes down, so it's probably not a yellow card.
"But for me, the second one is. When you've been booked and you're on a yellow card, you leave yourself in a position where you can get a second yellow card sent off, so it's a bit naïve and stupid for that second yellow card."
Host Kelly Cates then added: "We should say as well, this is not about the force of the challenge, this is about stopping an attack for the opponent, and that's why it's given as a yellow card." Fomer Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld, also appearing as a pundit, explained: "Yeah, that's for sure, because I think Gravenberch thought he could get first to the ball, but Doku is so sharp, and then he came in first and then made a little foul, but again, he stops a good, promising attack, and that's why he got a yellow card."
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Liverpool fans in and around Anfield didn't make it an easy task for City to clinch all three points from the encounter, with displays ahead of kick-off in nod to the club's ongoing financial charges saga. City were found guilty of 114 infractions of the Premier League's rules during the international break, in a case which has dragged on since 2023.
While the club have since lodged an appeal as they look to prove their innocence, Liverpool fans were quick to lambast players as they arrived on Merseyside. Unofficial flags lined the streets featuring AI images of City players in prison jumpsuits alongside the words "guilty" and "114 charges," as did Oasis-themed banners and t-shirts reading "cheats."
It was equally hostile inside the ground, with jeers and boos heard directed toward Enzo Maresca and his men in the build-up to kick-off, on top of chants of "You cheating b******s, you know what you are," as well as "You haven’t won a trophy since 1976."
Liverpool fans hold up a banner
Liverpool fans displayed a number of banners(Image: Getty Images)
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Banners were also displayed by fans, again taking slight at Oasis and the Gallagher brothers - who are known Manchester City super fans. One read: "All of your stars are fading away," while another brandished: "And after all, you really won f*** all."
Another blunt display simply read: "A generation of supporters cheated," highlighting how it's not just Liverpool fans who feel hard done-by via City's initial guilty verdict in an era of sky blue dominance.
City supporters in the away end, meanwhile, responded with a sea of inflatable bananas, reigniting a tradition seen at Maine Road in the 1980s.
Liverpool, who sit ninth in the Premier League standings as a result of Sunday's loss, will have to wait the best part of a week to turn the tide in the Premier League, given they are tasked with taking on LASK in Europe come Wednesday, October 14. They then return to the English top flight on Saturday, October 17 against Brentford away from home.