MIKE DEAN: Anthony Taylor and his team can hold their heads high

MIKE DEAN: Anthony Taylor and his team can hold their heads high after excellent officiating at Anfield – he let the game flow and made the correct decision to disallow Manchester City’s goal after consulting VAR

  • Anthony Taylor was excellent in how he handled Liverpool v Manchester CIty 
  • Taylor allowed the game to flow as he elected to wave away soft fouls 
  • In addition, he made the correct decision to disallow Phil Foden’s goal  

I didn’t want to disturb Anthony Taylor so soon after his game on Sunday night but once he’s had time to digest it all, I’ll be messaging Tayls to congratulate him on putting in a superb performance at Anfield. His approach to refereeing this high-pressure Premier League match only added to the spectacle.

He let the game flow by waving away the soft fouls and penalising the ones that clearly overstepped the mark. It was the same for both Liverpool and Manchester City and it made for the physical battle we like to see in the Premier League. 

VAR Darren England did his job, too, including requesting that Tayls should review a possible foul at the pitchside monitor, which led to disallowing City’s would-be opener by Phil Foden. Tayls couldn’t see the shirt pull by Haaland on Fabinho from his position – but VAR could.

The way Anthony Taylor refereed the Liverpool versus Manchester City game was impressive

It was a clear foul for me which left the Liverpool man on the ground, and it’s important to remember that Fabinho would have been the one tracking City’s striker as he made his way into the box. 

Haaland’s foul therefore had a direct impact on how this attacking phase played out. He won the ball and then Phil Foden scored.

VAR might have had another decision to make on whether Alisson had the ball under control when Haaland took it away from him – I don’t think the Liverpool goalkeeper did – but it didn’t get to that stage as Haaland’s earlier foul on Fabinho meant the goal had to be disallowed and VAR was right to intervene. 

VAR Darren England did his job, including requesting that Taylor review a possible foul at the pitchside monitor

Taylor was right to disallow Phil Foden’s goal as Erling Haaland pulled Fabinho’s shirt

Overall, the refereeing team, including the two assistant referees – Adam Nunn and Gary Beswick – can hold their heads high after this showing. 

They were trusted with the most high-profile Premier League game this weekend and didn’t disappoint.

You can only officiate like this when you’ve put in the hard work. Tayls used all of his experience at Anfield and showed why he and his team are going to this winter’s World Cup. 




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