Former referee Mark Clattenburg does not believe that Michael Oliver should be criticised for failing to stop play before Manchester United’s first goal against Liverpool.

Alexis Mac Allister clearly picked up a head injury, which usually leads to a stoppage, but speaking to TBR Football, Clattenburg said the speed of United’s counter-attack made the decision “difficult”:

“When Van Dijk, Mac Allister, and Mbeumo jumped for the ball, referee Michael Oliver had to determine whether a foul had occurred. There is an argument that Van Dijk caught his teammate, Mac Allister, causing a head injury. According to the protocol for head injuries, the match should be stopped at the earliest opportunity.”

“This was a difficult situation for the referee. In a split second, Manchester United broke forward and scored. Was there an opportunity to stop play? Oliver needed to be certain a head injury had occurred, and before he could make that assessment, Manchester United had already scored. Therefore, no blame can be attached to the match officials.”

Refereeing decisions change games

Nobody would have complained if Oliver had blown his whistle straight away. The PGMOL claim that he didn’t see the incident but that seems implausible.

As Clattenburg says, it’s more likely that he opted not to stop play as he was focused on United’s counter-attack. The decision meant that Liverpool went behind early on and they were subsequently left chasing the game. It transformed how the match played out.

Liverpool still had a lot of chances to win

Despite the contentious opening goal, Arne Slot’s side had plenty of time to get back on level terms. It took them until 78 minutes to score and within 6 minutes they went behind for a second time.

Despite being beaten, their xG of 2.75 demonstrates how wasteful the Reds were in front of goal. If they had been more clinical, Slot’s team would not have been on the losing side.

Read more about the Liverpool First Team Squad for 2025/26 here