Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has criticised the decision to book Ryan Gravenberch for his first foul in the Reds’ 3-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester City, arguing that the midfielder’s dismissal changed the course of the match.
Gravenberch was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 62nd minute at Anfield on Sunday, October 11, with the score still goalless. Manchester City subsequently scored three times through Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki to secure victory.
Iraola said Liverpool had performed well before the dismissal but struggled to contain City after being reduced to 10 men.
“We played two different games: one until the red card, and one from the red card until the end,” he said. “For 60 minutes, the players were very good. The second game from the red card was where City were better than us.”
The Liverpool boss was particularly unhappy with the first booking, which followed a challenge on Manchester City midfielder Elliot Anderson.
“The first foul of Ryan is never a yellow card — never,” Iraola said. “This kind of game, just a stomp in the big toe or something minor.”
He also questioned why referee Chris Kavanagh showed Gravenberch a yellow card after initially allowing play to continue.
“He doesn’t even call the foul straight away. He lets it go. I think Elliot Anderson does a couple of steps, he decides to go down. I don’t know why after he shows the yellow card,” Iraola added.
The Liverpool manager argued that the incident did not present a significant threat, insisting his side had enough players behind the ball and that the foul occurred in the middle of the pitch.
The dismissal proved decisive. City took advantage of their numerical superiority, with Haaland opening the scoring in the 65th minute before Doku doubled the lead three minutes later. Cherki completed the victory in the 78th minute.
Despite the heavy defeat, Iraola praised his players’ effort and Liverpool supporters, saying the team had been building momentum before Gravenberch’s dismissal.
“I feel very proud of the players today,” he said. “It’s a loss and we didn’t get anything from the performance, but I liked it a lot.”
The result handed Liverpool their first Premier League defeat of the 2026-27 season, while Manchester City maintained their winning start to the campaign.