Iraola questions Gravenberch red card after Liverpool’s defeat by Manchester City

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola said his side played “two different matches” against Manchester City after Ryan Gravenberch’s dismissal contributed to a 3-0 defeat at Anfield.

The score was goalless until the 62nd minute, when Liverpool midfielder Gravenberch was sent off. Manchester City then scored three times in succession to settle Sunday’s Premier League meeting, held during the sixth round of the competition.

Iraola said Liverpool had performed well before the red card and believed the dismissal changed the contest.

“I think first of all it is about the fact that we played two different matches,” he told BBC after the game. “The first was before the red card and the second was afterwards.

“For the first 60 minutes, the players’ performance was excellent. In the second match, after the red card, Manchester City were better than us.”

The Liverpool manager also questioned the decision to send off Gravenberch after he had received a second yellow card.

“The first yellow card was just a kick on the toe. It was nothing. It was a normal foul,” he said.

“That was the moment when we were putting in more effort. The momentum was building in our favour and the atmosphere in the stadium was really excellent.”

Iraola felt Liverpool had limited Manchester City’s opportunities during the opening half and had begun to create chances after the interval, before Gravenberch’s dismissal altered the balance.

“We conceded very few chances in the first half. We played really well,” he said. “In the second half, we were turning that into chances.”

He added that facing Manchester City was difficult enough when both teams had 11 players, and that the task became considerably harder after Liverpool were reduced to 10.

“It is already difficult to press them when the two teams are level, 11 against 11, but with one player fewer the game becomes completely different,” Iraola said.

“Then we conceded a goal straight away before making any substitutions. You have to play differently when you are 1-0 down.”

Despite the result, Iraola said he was proud of the way his players had approached the match.

“You learn a lot from games like this. I am very proud of my team,” he said. “They gave everything today. It is true that we lost the match and did not get a positive result, but I enjoyed it a lot.”

Asked whether injured players could return for Liverpool’s Champions League match this week, he said the timeframe was tight.

“It will be difficult. There are only two days left. Nobody knows what will happen,” he said.