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Man City Survive Late VAR Penalty Check in Dramatic Draw at Liverpool

Manchester City survived a late VAR check for a penalty in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Liverpool after Jeremy Doku caught Alexis Mac Allister with a high boot.

Robert Summerscales

Man City Survive Late VAR Penalty Check in Dramatic Draw at Liverpool
Man City Survive Late VAR Penalty Check in Dramatic Draw at Liverpool /

Premier League title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City drew 1-1 at Anfield on Sunday.

John Stones opened the scoring for City before an Alexis Mac Allister penalty kick got Liverpool level.

City then survived a late VAR review after another Liverpool penalty appeal.

Sunday's result left Arsenal top of the table on goal difference with 10 rounds of fixtures left to play this season.

Arsenal and Liverpool have 64 points each, while City sit third with 63.

Alexis Mac Allister pictured (right) celebrating with his Liverpool teammates after scoring a goal in a 1-1 draw against Manchester City in March 2024
Alexis Mac Allister (right) scored Liverpool's equalizer in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Manchester City :: IMAGO/PA Images/Peter Byrne

This was the final Premier League contest between City boss Pep Guardiola and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who will stand down from his role at the end of the season.

Klopp's Reds were roared on by a noisy Anfield but the home crowd fell silent in the 23rd minute when City took the lead from a clever set-piece.

An unusually flat corner-kick delivery from Kevin De Bruyne caught the Liverpool players sleeping and allowed Stones to fire past Caoimhin Kelleher from close range.

Erling Haaland had a chance to double City's advantage in the first half when a pass from De Bruyne put him one-on-one with Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.

But after running at Van Dijk for almost half the length of the field, Haaland shot straight at keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

Liverpool equalized five minutes into the second half when Mac Allister scored from the penalty spot following an Ederson foul on Darwin Nunez, who had pounced on a loose back-pass from Nathan Ake.

The Reds appealed for another penalty kick in added time when Jeremy Doku caught Mac Allister with a high boot inside the penalty area.

Jeremy Doku pictured (left) challenging for the ball with Alexis Mac Allister during Liverpool and Manchester City's 1-1 draw in March 2024
Jeremy Doku (left) caught Mac Allister with his right boot but survived a late VAR check for a possible penalty / Telemundo Deportes

Doku's toe made contact with Mac Allister's chest before his heel hit the Argentina midfielder's groin on the way down.

The incident was checked by the video assistant referee but no penalty was awarded.

Slow-motion replays showed that Doku had touched the ball before his follow-through made contact with Mac Allister.

It was also ruled by the VAR that Doku had played the ball in "a reasonable position".

Highlights: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City

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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.