Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admitted a Rodri red card would not have made much difference in their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.
Mohamed Salah put the away side in front at the Etihad Stadium, but World Cup winner Julian Alvarez - who played in place of the injured Erling Haaland - levelled proceedings in the 27th minute. Pep Guardiola's side took control of the clash in the second half thanks to quickfire goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan.
England international Jack Grealish, who grabbed the assist for the Blues' opener, made it 4-1 to City in the 74th minute as the reigning champions secured a convincing victory. However, the home side were perhaps fortunate to not see Rodri sent off for a second bookable offence in the first half when the scores were still level.
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The Spanish midfielder was initially booked for a cynical challenge on Diogo Jota, and he pulled back Cody Gakpo with both arms just moments later. Despite the Liverpool players surrounding referee Simon Hooper, Rodri remained on the pitch.
Liverpool boss Klopp suggested the 26-year-old was fortunate to stay on the pitch, but also admitted the Merseyside club could not use it as an excuse for their performance.
"I didn’t see it good enough, Could he have got a second yellow? Yeah, probably, he will not get it now," Klopp told reporters. "I am not sure we would have wanted to play against 10 men."
He added: "Four performances were OK: the two midfielders [Jordan] Henderson and Fabinho worked a lot, Cody [Gakpo] and Alisson. If you want to get something here 14 or 15 players have to be on top of their game and that was not the case.
"At 3-1 down it is difficult to come back here – we had a situation for 3-2 when Robbo [Andy Robertson] broke through but apart from that City could do what they wanted because the spaces were too big so we were lucky they only scored one more."
City remain eight points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table, albeit with a game in hand. The Gunners cruised to a 4-1 win over Leeds on Saturday afternoon.
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