Liverpool star James Milner is a lucky boy.
The Reds played out a fascinating 2-2 draw with Manchester City at Anfield tonight and the 35-year-old was fortunate not to be sent off.
Milner fouled Bernardo Silva in the second half but referee Paul Tierney did not deem the Liverpool right-back – who had been booked – to be worthy of a second yellow.
City boss Pep Guardiola was absolutely furious on the sidelines and wound up getting a caution himself, with the hosts going 2-1 ahead in the game minutes later through Mohamed Salah.
And Guardiola, speaking to Sky Sports, has intimated that the referee buckled under the pressure of officiating a high-energy game in front of the Liverpool fans.
He told Sky Sports: “It’s a second yellow card. It’s a second yellow card. It’s too clear, but it’s Anfield, it’s Old Trafford. In this situation, the Manchester City player would’ve been sent off.”
Is he right?
Well, he might be.
You wonder if Milner had committed the same foul at the Etihad Stadium whether Tierney would’ve hesitated to brandish a second yellow card.
Even Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp knew that Milner had got away with one, by virtue of the fact that Joe Gomez was stripped and ready to replace him shortly after that.
But Guardiola went on to admit that it was an ‘honour’ to manage a game in the atmosphere drummed up by the Anfield faithful, illustrating that the Spanish coach isn’t overly bitter about it.
That being said, had Kevin de Bruyne not equalised late on and Liverpool recorded a 2-1 win, it might’ve been a very different story for Guardiola.
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