Sean Dyche described referee Craig Pawson’s decision not to send off Ibrahima Konate in the Merseyside derby as “nearly impossible”.
Everton were reduced to 10 men late in the first half at Anfield when Ashley Young was shown a second yellow card but Pawson opted not to make the same decision midway through the second half when Konate pulled back Beto.
The Toffees had succeeded in keeping the game goalless to that point but Mohamed Salah then scored a penalty after a VAR review saw Michael Keane penalised for handball and the striker added a very late second to give Liverpool a 2-0 win.
Dyche was booked following the Konate decision, and he said: “I have no clue. I have asked the referee and he said he didn’t feel it was a bookable offence and he felt that straight away. I don’t know what is then.
“I think people who were here today would be stunned it was not a second yellow. Their manager took him off as quick as he could, he’s realised. I don’t want to talk about referees. I can’t remember the last time I spoke this openly about referees and decisions but that one is incredible to me.
“And I got a yellow card. I don’t even know why I got a yellow card. It was a near impossibility. For literally gesticulating like everyone in the stadium was probably. That’s ridiculous.
“I would get in trouble so I’m not going to get too involved in it, I think I’m trying to be fair. How that’s not a second yellow is nearly impossible I think in the modern game.”
Dyche had no real complaints about the Young decision or the penalty, saying: “The sending off happens. I think the first one’s touch and go, the second yellow is a yellow. That’s the way it goes.
“The penalty, I don’t like the modern rule but I am aware of it. I don’t think it is a deliberate act but they’re the rules now, it’s going to get given.
“I must say I’m getting bored of all this running over to the TV. We all know what’s going to happen. They’re talking about speeding the game up, why not just get on with it? There is somebody in an office with 47 views. If it’s a penalty, it’s a penalty.”
Dyche called for VAR to be used for instances such as Konate’s that could lead to a sending off but does not believe Liverpool were given the rub of the green as a result of the high-profile officiating errors in their recent loss to Tottenham.
“I doubt it, I think referees just referee whatever’s going on in front of them,” he said. “I just think it was a bad decision. I think there were a lot of bad decisions, both ways. But that’s a vital decision in a game like this.”
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp immediately substituted Konate and had sympathy with Dyche, although he insisted he did not see the incident clearly.
“I didn’t see it back, and I was not sure I saw it 100 per cent, I think I was somewhere else in that moment, but then when he’s going down, and Ibou I knew had a yellow card, I knew that could be tricky,” said the Reds boss.
“He didn’t get the second yellow then I thought we don’t give it a chance and take him off. I can imagine the frustration of Everton and Sean, absolutely.”
Nevertheless, Klopp believed his side fully merited the three points and praised Salah, who took his goal tally for the season to eight.
“What I love most about Mo is that Mo Salah played for us an incredible amount of fantastic games,” said the Reds boss.
“Today it was not his best game but being that clinical is probably his biggest quality and I love that, because you need somebody who brings the ball over the line.
“I couldn’t respect that fact more. That’s absolutely outstanding. The numbers are crazy. He will never stop, that is his nature and that’s really cool for us.”
Sassuolo 1-0 Inter: Serie A champions suffer surprise defeat
Inter suffered only their second defeat in Serie A this season as a first-half goal by Armand Lauriente gave relegation-threatened Sassuolo a crucial 1-0 victory.
Sassuolo have a unique hold over Simone Inzaghi's side this season, as the only team to beat Inter in the league, having secured a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture in September.
The result was a big boost in Sassuolo's battle against relegation, as they sit second from bottom on 29 points, with only three points between them and Cagliari in 14th place.
Lauriente got the only goal of the match after 20 minutes when Josh Doig managed to wrestle the ball back from Denzel Dumfries near the corner flag and pulled it back, with Sassuolo's matchwinner on hand to slot into the net from close range.
Data Debrief: Long time coming
This was the first time Inter have lost a league match against a team in the bottom two of the standings since way back in November 2014. On that occasion, they went down 2-0 to Parma.
Lauriente, meanwhile, has scored four Serie A goals since the beginning of April, a joint-record in the period in the top-flight (level with Hakan Calhanoglu).
Xavi insists there is 'no debate' over his Barcelona future
Xavi insisted there is "no debate" over his future at Barcelona after the Blaugrana's title hopes were dashed by Girona.
Barca lost 4-2 to Girona on Saturday, ensuring Real Madrid were crowned LaLiga champions.
Xavi, having initially elected to leave the club at the end of the season, last month performed a U-turn on that decision, confirming he would stay on until at least the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Yet that did not stop the Barca coach facing questions over his role in Saturday's post-match news conference.
"There is no debate over my future," Xavi told reporters, before expanding on his feelings after the defeat.
"I am sad, disappointed. We have experienced both sides of the coin. Ineffectiveness have killed us once and again.
"I'm the first to be angry, to be p***** off with this situation, I understand the fans. Before being a coach, I was a fan. I understand our people's frustration."
Barca are now in third place and, with four matches remaining, must now rely on Girona slipping up if they are to have any chance of contesting the Supercopa de Espana next season, with a trophyless campaign guaranteed this time around.
Girona, on the other hand, sealed Champions League qualification for the first time in their history.
Portu came off the bench to score twice in Saturday's win, and he gave an emotional interview in the wake of the victory.
"It's incredible to look at your shirt and experience this. There is nothing more beautiful than living this," Portu told DAZN with tears rolling down his face.
"I had a thorn in my side with this club. A few years ago, I experienced the other side, which was relegation and I felt very responsible because I played a lot. Today I made amends with the fans and I can smile again."
New York City FC v Colorado Rapids: Hosts’ morale strong as Cushing aims to extend winning run
The morale in New York City FC’s squad is good, so says coach Nick Cushing, as his team aim to extend their winning streak when they take on the Colorado Rapids.
NYCFC have won their last three MLS games, and are unbeaten in five, heading into Saturday’s fixture.
It is their final game of a five-match home run, with Cushing’s team up to sixth in the Eastern Conference.
"The morale is really good," Cushing said. "As a coach, you like it when the mood is happy and vibrant and everybody is flying but you also want to make sure the feet are on the floor and the eyes are facing forward.
"We looked at the performance [against Charlotte FC], and I agree we have to score more goals. The process of scoring more goals was about how do we create more chances. I think now we're in a place where it is about how do we score more of the chances we create.
"The aim is to make sure that we prepare ourselves well so that we get ourselves mentally to a place where we can perform well and control the game against a really difficult Colorado team.
"We know they’re going to press and be aggressive. The area of development for the team is to take the chances we create and score goals and continue to be an attacking team.
"Every time we’re hard to play against we give ourselves a chance of winning. When I look out at the guys on the training field I see hungry guys."
The Rapids, meanwhile, are sixth in the Western Conference.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
NYCFC – Santiago Rodriguez
Rodriguez assisted on New York City FC’s stoppage-time winning goal on Saturday, his sixth goal contribution of the season (four goals, two assists), all at home. Since the start of last season, Rodriguez has recorded 15 goal contributions in 22 home matches compared to four in 19 away matches.
Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro
Navarro is the Rapids’ leading scorer this season, with four goals in MLS. All of those have come from his right foot, with Navarro averaging a goal every 201 minutes.
MATCH PREDICTION: NYCFC WIN
Colorado’s four-match unbeaten run ended last week with a 2-1 loss at FC Cincinnati. The Rapids are winless in their last nine away matches against Eastern Conference opposition in all competitions (D3 L6).
NYCFC have won three straight regular-season matches for the first time since the last three matches of the 2022 season. NYCFC had managed only two wins in their previous 10 matches dating back to the end of last season.
NYCFC are unbeaten in six all-time meetings with the Rapids (W3 D3). The Rapids are one of two teams (San Jose Earthquakes) NYCFC have played more than three times and never lost against.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYCFC – 52%
Colorado Rapids – 21.1%
Draw – 26.9%
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