Joao Cancelo appeared to take full responsibility for Manchester City's loss at Liverpool on Sunday.
The reverse ended the champions' unbeaten start to the season as their struggles at Anfield continued. Pep Guardiola 's side came into the game in scintillating form, but were undone by a second-half goal as Mohamed Salah proved to be the match winner.
His strike, in front of the Kop, came after he'd turned last-man Cancelo and allowed to race clear. Alisson's long punt wasn't dealt with by the City full-back and he owned up at full-time. Footage looks to show him embracing Phil Foden after the clash ends and mouthing "my fault".
Pep Guardiola admitted that several errors led to the goal which ultimately decided the contest. He cited Kevin de Bruyne failing to go with his man before Cancelo was unable to hold off Salah before he finished past Ederson.
The City boss said: “We conceded a goal because of a mistake, and we didn’t follow the transition. Alisson plays it out quick, Kevin didn’t follow, and Joao lost the duel - it is always so difficult against Salah with the way he uses his body. This is something we have to learn for future tight games against Liverpool, but the way we played, the performance and the courage we played with was fantastic.”
Defeat for the Manchester outfit means they remain in second, but are now four points off pace setters Arsenal, who won their ninth game in 10 on Sunday. City's defeat came after they had the ball in the net, only for VAR to intervene.
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A foul on Fabinho by Erling Haaland in the build-up to Foden's strike saw Anthony Taylor reverse his decision after going to the monitor. It caused huge frustration for the visitors, who were left to rue their luck at Anfield once again.
Guardiola added: “The referee spoke with my assistant coach Rodolfo [Borrell] and he said we are not going to make fouls until it is clear. At that stage (when we scored) we had all the momentum and nobody knows what would have happened after."
Bernardo Silva also weighed in, calling for consistency from referees on Sky Sports : "What we expect from the referees is consistency in the decisions. If from the beginning of the game you're not whistling little fouls, and we saw it in this game that he was letting us play - which is good, which is fine - then if there is a goal you cannot whistle a soft one.
"If you want consistency from the referee you cannot change just because there is a goal. Just because it's a tough decision you have to make the tough decision and keep the goal."
