Neither Arne Slot’s title-holding Liverpool nor Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have begun the 2025/26 Premier League season in convincing fashion, but their clash at the Etihad still delivered major drama — especially surrounding the decision to rule out Virgil van Dijk’s first-half header for offside.
What is normally a battle between two title contenders started with Erling Haaland doing what he does best, firing City ahead just before the 30-minute mark. Minutes later, Van Dijk appeared to equalise with a powerful header, rising above everyone in the box and beating Gianluigi Donnarumma, who didn’t attempt to stop the effort. Liverpool players celebrated, believing they had levelled the match going into the break.
Premier League explain Van Dijk’s disallowed goal
However, confusion soon followed. Referee Chris Kavanagh chalked off the goal after the assistant flagged Andy Robertson for offside, claiming he was obstructing Donnarumma’s line of sight. Replays showed Robertson ducking as Van Dijk’s header flew past, but VAR backed the on-field decision, stating:
> “The referee’s offside and no-goal decision was checked and confirmed by VAR — Robertson was offside and judged to have clearly interfered with the goalkeeper.”
The call left fans furious, with some accusing officials of “robbing” Liverpool. Even Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Micah Richards voiced their disbelief during the broadcast.
City quickly made Liverpool’s frustration worse, doubling their lead right before half-time. Bernardo Silva fed Nico Gonzalez on the edge of the box, and his strike deflected off Van Dijk, wrong-footing goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and finding the net.
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