Within a minute of play beginning at Anfield, Liverpool found itself 1-0 down to a controversial Bryan Mbuemo goal.

Manchester United’s opening goal in Sunday’s Premier League game against Liverpool was shrouded in controversy as Alexis Mac Allister was suffering with a head injury as Bryan Mbuemo tucked the ball into the back of the net.

The ex-Brentford man netted within a minute of the game beginning at Anfield, as he slid the ball past Giorgi Mamardashvili with his right foot in front of the Kop. Whether it should have counted is a point of contention, however.

The incident resulted in the Argentina international lying prone on the turf as Amad slipped the ball into Mbuemo’s path. Play should normally cease immediately when a head injury occurs, but referee Michael Oliver allowed the game to continue.

With no foul committed, there was no requirement for VAR to get involved, so allowing the goal to stand was down to the referee’s reading of the situation.

It’s understood Oliver simply didn’t see Mac Allister on the ground, hence his decision to allow the game to continue.

Mac Allister was forced to wear a protective headwear after the Van Dijk collision
The game was stopped for over three minutes as Mac Allister received treatment on the pitch. When play resumed, the 26-year-old was sporting a black, full head bandage.

Arne Slot was clearly frustrated by the incident and was seen deep in conversation with the fourth official after the goal.

Jamie Carragher expressed his surprise on commentary duty that Oliver failed to notice Mac Allister was out of action.

Meanwhile, his fellow pundit Gary Neville also shared his shock at Van Dijk’s handling of the incident, with the Liverpool skipper failing to track Mbuemo’s run into the box after winning the initial header.

Bryan Mbuemo scored in the opening stages against Manchester United

“I can’t work out if Van Dijk is trying to play him offside,” said the ex-United defender. “He points towards [Ibrahima] Konate as if to say ‘that is your man’. It is a strange handover from him.”

United’s early goal wasn’t the only moment of controversy in the first half. Liverpool was also not awarded a penalty after the ball struck Amad’s hand in the box from close range in the 18th minute.

“The referee’s call of no penalty was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Amad’s arm was in a natural and justifiable position,” the Premier League said via it’s Match Centre account on X.