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Liverpool news: Vincent Kompany ‘thought he was getting sent off’ - Man City REVELATION
MANCHESTER CITY captain Vincent Kompany immediately thought he was going to get sent off for his tackle on Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on Thursday.
That is the opinion of former Arsenal winger turned pundit Perry Groves.
Kompany was booked for a high tackle on Salah in the first half of the huge clash at the Etihad.
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The Liverpool man tried to ride the challenge but was caught by the centre-back.
After the match Kompany claimed in an interview he thought it was a good tackle.
That means, in his head, he thinks ‘I’m going here’. That’s his first reaction
But Groves actually reckons the reaction of the Belgian, who pleaded his innocence to referee Anthony Taylor, showed he thought he was going to be sent off.
“He should have been sent off,” Groves said on talkSPORT.
“Vincent Kompany does that quite a lot and referees should know about players as well.
“He launches himself when he is the last-ditch, he’s got the reputation of doing the scissor tackle.
“You know when you launch yourself, not both feet completely off the ground, but one just on the ground and one off.
“He caught Salah, he knew that if he doesn’t take Salah, Salah’s through one v one. So he knew exactly what he was doing.
“Referees should look at players reactions sometimes.
“You know if there’s a penalty incident and the player turns round and waves as if to say ‘no ref it’s not a penalty’, nine times out of 10 that means it is.
“I think Vincent Kompany, if you see his reaction, he prays as if to say ‘I’ve taken the ball’.
“That means, in his head, he thinks ‘I’m going here’. That’s his first reaction, ‘no I haven’t taken him’ - you think ‘yes I have’.
“But you can understand if Anthony Taylor is at the wrong angle because possession was given away quite quickly and John Stones gave the ball away.
“But it was 100 per cent a red card. That obviously changes the complexion of the game completely.”
Manchester City went on to win the game 2-1 and close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points.
City moved above Tottenham in the table, who are six points adrift of Liverpool.