“Whether that’s soft or not enough to be a penalty is not my decision,” said Steven Gerrard in the aftermath of a soft penalty award in favour of Fashion Sakala against Aberdeen in Rangers’s 2-2 draw at Ibrox on October 21. “That’s the referee’s decision,” added Gerrard. “He’s given it and we’ve managed to get a point off the back of that.”
On Saturday at Anfield, the former Rangers found out what it is like for the shoe to be on the other foot when his defender Tyrone Mings was punished for bringing down Mo Salah for a spot-kick which produced the only goal of the game in Aston Villa’s defeat by Liverpool.
“For me there were two penalty incidents in the game. Liverpool got theirs, we didn’t get ours,” said Gerrard of a possible foul by Alisson on Danny Ings after Ming’s transgression but in truth he was wrong and furthermore lucky that his own side hadn’t been penalised earlier for Marvelous Nakamba’s tackle on Andy Robertson inside the area which probably should have resulted in a penalty. It must have been a novel experience for Gerrard – scorer of 46 of the 55 penalties he took – whose career on the pitch and off has been aided plenty by the benefits that big club decisions bring.
The kings of comedy
The Two Ronnies, Little and Large, Morecambe and Wise, Moss and Marriner. The British public has always loved a good comedy duo and the latter pair are a welcome addition to the stable if their performance at the Etihad during Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Wolves was anything to go by. First up, Moss – the hapless, rotund Jon in this instance – somehow found fault in a minor infringement by Wolves striker Raul Jimenez on City midfielder Rodri and deemed it worthy of a booking. It clearly wasn’t. It led to a sending off for the Mexican who, no doubt incensed by the decision, lost his head momentarily and proceeded to stifle all City attempts to take the resulting free-kick. Moss took out his yellow card, then his red and sent him off. Then Marriner – Andre in the VAR booth – missed a blatant penalty shout on Max Kilman in the first-half to deny City a spot-kick before failing to point out that Moss had got it wrong when penalising Joao Moutinho for another penalty, this time when the ball hit the Portuguese midfielder in the ribcage.
The convenient explanation from VAR afterwards? “We couldn’t find a definitive angle amongst the replays to overrule the onfield decision.”
Oh, how we laughed as we watched a replay that clearly showed that the ball didn’t hit Moutinho’s arm.
Can somebody please explain Arsenal?
It’s hard to know what you’re getting these days with the Londoners. Pegged back then overhauled in midweek at Everton and in the midst of awful away form that has brought recent defeats against Manchester United and Liverpool, they relished the familiar embrace of home with a 3-0 win over a Southampton side that did not make it easy for them. Arsenal managed to hit the post twice in a victory that again hinted at what might be for the Gunners and Mikel Arteta. That seems to be a recurring theme, though, with Arsenal under the Spaniard. Just good enough for the upper mid-table spots not quite equipped to challenge for the top four. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s ongoing disciplinary issues with the club hint at part of the problem: it’s a club that needs willing workers not heavily paid fading stars who think they are bigger than those around them. That’s on those who gave first Mesut Ozil and, now Aubameyang, whopping great contracts, though.
Work to be done for Rangnick
It’s been a strange introduction to life at Old Trafford for Ralf Rangnick. United looked formidable against Crystal Palace last weekend and much more like their old selves but have been less convincing in their two games since. Admittedly, the disjointed performance in the midweek draw against Young Boys in the Champions League could be explained by the number of changes made by the German during the course of the game but Saturday’s 1-0 win over Norwich City was less easily explained. Rangnick admitted he was puzzled by the uncertain performances of his front four at Carrow Road and, in the end, had to thank goalkeeper David de Gea for preserving his side’s lead with a string of saves. Some credit, though, must go to Dean Smith who has City playing in a manner which suggests they will dig themselves out of the hole they are in before the end of the season. As Rangnick himself noted: “It was a very intense game, very physical. They played well, they didn’t play like a bottom team.”
Leicester provide Covid antidote
It has been too easy to conclude that the problems at Leicester City have been the fault of their manager Brendan Rodgers. A quick look at the list of players who have been unavailable to the Northern Irishman help to explain why his side have hovered around the lower mid-table region for most of the season. Rodgers was already missing 10 players heading into yesterday’s match against Newcastle and his cause was hardly helped when Jonny Evans, the best centre-half in England outside the top six teams, limped off with a hamstring problem. A number of the 10 who were absent for Leicester were due to positive Covid-19 tests. Meanwhile, Tottenham’s match at Brighton was postponed because of an outbreak in their camp. Last night, reports emerged from Old Trafford that a small number of Manchester United’s players had tested positive, too. It raises questions about the logic of playing as a new strain rips through the UK. Credit, though, to Leicester for overcoming their setbacks by recording a thumping win over a Newcastle side that might have to hope for more Covid interruptions among weaker squads than Leicester’s if they are to escape relegation to the Championship.
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