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Why Jurgen Klopp was once fuming with the referee who sent Ryan Gravenberch off during Liverpool vs Man City
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Liverpool’s defeat against Manchester City on Sunday could have been a very different game had Chris Kavanagh chosen not to give Ryan Gravenberch a second yellow card.
Gravenberch had been the game’s best player up until the 62nd minute, when Kavanagh decided that his coming together with Jeremy Doku deserved another booking and a red card. Though the challenge in itself was probably a booking, the Dutchman’s first yellow of the day absolutely was not.
As a result, Kavanagh is rightly earning criticism from all sides for a decision which ultimately shaped the whole game. And it is not the first time that the Mancunian has been blasted by those associated with Liverpool. After failing to intervene in a Moises Caicedo tackle which injured Gravenberch during the 2024 Carabao Cup final, Kavanagh felt the fury of then Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
Give us your INSTANT REACTION as Liverpool lose 3-0 to Man City 😡
Not knee jerk just a feeling I had before the season. As I say, it’s far too early but it’s a prediction
Really sick of these knee jerk reactions - he's a good manager at a new club.
Don’t think Liverpool did enough with being the better team up until the red. Thought the likes of Barcola and Wirtz just didn’t impact the game which is especially concerning given how much better Liverpool were at points.
Klopp said Kavanagh was ‘not at the level’ in 2024
Klopp loved the 2024 Carabao Cup final, even declaring the match to have been his favourite at the club as an injury-hit, youthful Liverpool team overran Chelsea at Wembley.
The already existing fitness issues were made even worse before the half-hour mark, when Gravenberch went down under a nasty challenge from Caicedo. The Reds’ midfielder ended up being stretchered off, but Kavanagh did not even blow for a foul at the time.
Despite his team winning the game in dramatic circumstances, Klopp did not forget the referee’s decision, and chose to make a point of it at full-time, even as he celebrated another trophy win.
“There were two teams who were fighting extremely hard and the referee didn’t have the level of the game. That’s how it is, I’m sorry for that, make a story of that, but everybody saw that,” the former Liverpool manager told Sky Sports.
READ MORE: Andoni Iraola urged to start Liverpool youngster in the Champions League on Wednesday in ‘obvious’ change
“It [Caiceido’s tackle that injured Gravenberch] was not even a foul. He didn’t even whistle a foul. The fourth official then explains to me, ‘yeah, because of that we cannot give a card.’ Oh, good idea.
“These boys, I’m not sure if it’s just too much, too quick for them, but this situation was for me obvious. We saw the foot stepping on the ankle and that was obviously everything what you need for a card. I hope it’s not bad, not broken, but the ligaments got something and it’s all bad.”
Gravenberch ended up missing three weeks or so before returning to training, with the injury not as bad as first feared. Nevertheless, Klopp was right to point out Kavanagh’s mistake. Sadly, the referee does not appear to have learned from it.