Wayne Rooney has heavily criticized Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch following his sending off during Sunday's heavy defeat to Manchester City, describing the Dutchman's actions as both reckless and avoidable given the circumstances.
The match remained goalless when Gravenberch was shown a second yellow card in the 62nd minute, reducing Liverpool to ten men against City, who sit unbeaten at the top of the Premier League table. What followed was a dramatic capitulation from the home side, as City scored twice within six minutes of the dismissal. Erling Haaland opened the scoring before substitute Jeremy Doku added a brilliant curling finish to put the result beyond doubt.
Speaking as a pundit on BBC's Match of the Day, Rooney acknowledged that Gravenberch's first booking - for a challenge on Elliot Anderson - appeared harsh, but insisted the midfielder should have shown greater awareness once already carrying a yellow card. The second caution came after he brought down Doku during a City counter-attack.
"I think the first yellow card is harsh," Rooney explained. "He's obviously gone for the ball, it's a poor touch by Elliot Anderson and he just nicks him and catches him on the top of his foot and he goes down. So it's probably not a yellow card."
However, the former Manchester United striker was far less sympathetic regarding the second offense. "But for me, the second one is," he said. "When you've been booked and you're on a yellow card, then you leave yourself in a position where you can get a second yellow card and sent off. So it's a bit naive and stupid for that second yellow card."
The dismissal leaves Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola facing potential selection headaches in midfield. Gravenberch will be suspended for the Premier League fixture against Brentford on Saturday, though he remains available for the Champions League trip to face LASK Linz in Austria on Wednesday. With Dominik Szoboszlai's fitness also in question, Iraola's options through the middle of the park could be significantly limited heading into a demanding run of fixtures.
Beyond his assessment of the sending off, Rooney used his punditry role to revisit an ongoing debate surrounding Manchester City's guilty verdict and the club's history of Premier League titles won during the period under scrutiny. The win over Liverpool marked City's first match since that verdict was delivered, adding extra context to the occasion.
Rooney reiterated a stance he has expressed previously, stating that he would have no interest in being awarded a Premier League title retroactively were City to be stripped of trophies from seasons in question. His own Manchester United side finished as runners-up to City in both the 2011/12 campaign, while Rooney played under Sir Alex Ferguson, and again in 2017/18 under Jose Mourinho.
"It's difficult," Rooney said of the prospect. "I look at it from a player's point of view. For those players, they went onto the football pitch and they won the league. We finished second, we didn't finish first. I wouldn't want a medal for finishing second."
The comments add another layer to an already eventful week for both clubs, with Liverpool now needing to regroup quickly ahead of their midweek European assignment and subsequent domestic test against Brentford, while City continue their title defense in strong form.
Based on reporting from standard-football.