Referee blew whistle before Coutinho scored from 25 yards

Steven Gerrard has insisted Philippe Coutinho was denied a “legitimate goal” that could have secured Aston Villa victory against Manchester City and said officials admitted they’d committed a mistake when he spoke to the officials following the draw.

Referee Simon Hooper, blew his whistle right before Coutinho fired his shot from 25 yards off the side of the crossbar. This was just when Leon Bailey had equalised, due to the assistant referee, Adrian Holmes, had incorrectly declared offside. A video assistant referee Mike Dean, could have looked into the goal if play were allowed to continue.”I witnessed a legitimate goal however, I am obviously not impartial,” Gerrard said of the incident 10 minutes later the time. “The referee also did it in the opposite direction with [EzriKonsa] Konsa [when he made a challenge] on the goalkeeper [Edersonthe keeper [Ederson]. He was in a desperate state at the whistle, which was thrown against us twice during the match.”

Gerrard spoke about the incident with officials following the game, and he claimed they admitted to their error. “They recognised they were too quick on the whistle,” the Villa manager explained. “I’ve sought their opinion of the matter. I try to understand the other side. But the judge has been too early.

“I am aware of an occasional rule change regarding making sure that you don’t wait too long to hear these flags and whistles, and I am aware of the rule change however I believe that when something is that tight it’s worth that amount of time. There was a chance to score another goal at that point, and the decision went against us. However, credit to the officials, because they acknowledged that later in the room.”

Erling Haaland’s tenth goal in six games gave City the lead just five seconds into the second period before Bailey scored to make it 2-2. Pep Guardiola was dissatisfied that his team did not get their chances. Kevin De Bruyne struck the crossbar from a free-kick, and replacement Riyad Mahrez was held accountable for kicking off the crossbar late on.

“We didn’t play bad,” the City manager stated. “We only allowed one goal in 90 minutes and sadly they scored the goal. We didn’t have the precision in our play in the last third. There are many players who are not good at the simple things and this is the reason it happens. But it’s fine, one mistake and we carry on. Human beings are humans We are football players and this can happen.”