‘Stupid’ – Wayne Rooney criticises Liverpool star after Man City defeat

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Hosts Liverpool were reduced to ten men in the 62nd minute (Picture: Getty) City reclaimed their three-point lead at the top of the table (Picture: Getty) For ex-Manchester United and England forward Rooney, Gravenberch’s red card had a monumental impact on the encounter – and he felt the Netherlands international ultimately let his side down, despite the first booking being ‘harsh’. ‘I think the first yellow card is harsh,’ Rooney while watching back replays of Gravenberch’s foul on Anderson in the Match of the Day studio. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. ‘He’s obviously gone for the ball, it’s a poor touch by Elliot Anderson, and then he just nicks it and Gravenberch catches him on the top of his foot and then he goes down.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video ‘So it’s probably not a yellow card. ‘But for me, the second one, 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. ‘It’s a bit naive and stupid for that second yellow card.’ Doku made a major impact for City off the bench (Picture: Getty) Switching his focus to City’s performance, Rooney picked out Doku for special praise after the Belgian had a major hand in both of City’s opening goals. ‘He’s got a really good understanding with Nico O’Reilly so when he came on the pitch, O’Reilly seemed to be making more forward runs,’ Rooney, a five-time Premier League winner with United, added. ‘The goal is fantastic. It’s a great ball out from Elliot Anderson and [Victor] Munoz comes back to help [Ronald] Araujo out but Doku is that quick, he’s that sharp, he cuts inside and there’s nothing Munoz can do about it.

It’s a wonderful finish. ‘Doku coming on… his form in the second half of last season was excellent, he’s had injury, he’s come back and he’s just picked that form straight back up. He’s such a good player when he’s in that form.’ To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Rooney has some sympathy for City’s players following last month’s guilty verdict, claiming Maresca’s squad can only ‘try to beat what’s in front of them’ while the club wait for a response on their appeal. ‘They could be fighting for the title or fighting for relegation, no one knows where it’s going to end up,’ Rooney continued. ‘So yeah, it’s a bad situation to be in but as far as those players are concerned, all they can do is go out and try to do the job on the pitch. ‘The independent panel of the Premier League will decide what happens to them in terms of punishment, but they can only go out, play and try to beat what’s in front of them.’ City will look to pick up where they left off and make it seven wins from seven when they return to Premier League action at home to Ipswich next Saturday.