Liverpool vs Man City: What Iraola said about Gravenberch's red card

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has launched a scathing assessment of referee Chris Kavanagh following his side's 3-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, blaming the officials for completely ruining the Anfield clash.

 Iraola made the comments in his post-match press conference as the Spanish tactician dissected Ryan Gravenberch's pivotal 62nd-minute dismissal.

​With the match deadlocked at 0-0, Gravenberch was shown a second yellow card for a pull-back on Jérémy Doku. 

However, Iraola was aggrieved by the midfielder's initial booking in the 47th minute following a minor challenge on Elliot Anderson, arguing the decision lacked fundamental common sense.

​"I think the first foul of Ryan is never a yellow card, never," Iraola fumed. "These kinds of games, just a stomp on the big toe, or something minor. He doesn't even call the foul straight away. He lets it go, I think Anderson does a couple of steps. He decides to go down."

​The Liverpool boss highlighted the lack of tactical danger to further question the booking.

​"I don't know why after he shows the yellow card, because it's not a situation where it leaves advantage. We had nine players behind the ball. It's like they had a lot of, you know, it was in the middle of the pitch, no danger there," he explained. "You put yourself in trouble as a referee, and you put us in trouble as well."

​Iraola insisted Kavanagh lost control of the fixture's parameters within the opening ten minutes, citing the contentious booking for Barcelona loanee Ronald Araújo.

​In the 8th minute, Araújo was shown a yellow card for demonstratively urging the referee to penalise Manchester City defender Marc Guéhi for a deliberate handball. 

Iraola argued that strictly policing dissent while ignoring the initial infringement set an impossible standard for the remainder of the season.

​"At the beginning of the game, Ronald was shown a yellow card. I know he complained and reacted, but in a game like this, if you're going to start by punishing Ronald for complaining after a handball by Guéhi, then you're putting yourself in a difficult position," Iraola noted.

​"You give the right-back a yellow card straight away at the beginning of the game. In the textbooks, yes, it's perfect. He complains, and you can show him a yellow card. But then I'll be very careful all season, because every time someone complains, it has to be a yellow card."

​The impact of Gravenberch's dismissal was immediate and devastating for the hosts. Prior to the red card, Liverpool had successfully contained the reigning champions. 

However, forced to navigate the final half-hour with ten men, the defensive structure instantly collapsed. Manchester City ruthlessly exploited the numerical superiority, scoring three goals in a devastating 13-minute window through Erling Haaland (65'), Doku (68'), and Rayan Cherki (78').

​"I think the analysis is quite clear, no?" Iraola concluded. "I think we played two different games: one until the red card, and one from the red card until the end.”

“I think we were the better team until the red card in the first 62 minutes... And they were better than us, obviously, after the red card. And they scored the goals. But I think the players deserve credit today, because I think they've given everything."