Mark Clattenburg on whether Bryan Mbeumo's goal should have stood in Liverpool vs Man United

Mark Clattenburg has spoken to TBR Football and stated whether Bryan Mbeumo’s goal should have been allowed as Manchester United beat Liverpool in the Premier League.

Bryan Mbeumo scored in less than two minutes at Anfield, with the Cameroonian bagging his second Premier League goal of the season to open the scoring on Sunday.

But it wasn’t without controversy. Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister, and Mbeumo clashed during the build-up to the goal, leaving Liverpool’s Argentine in a heap on the floor.

Supporters questioned whether the game should have been stopped by officials for a head injury, but the goal was allowed to stand.

Exclusive: Mark Clattenburg on Bryan Mbeumo goal in Liverpool vs Man United

Speaking exclusively to TBR Football, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg put the debate to bed, stating that the officials dealt with the situation well, and no blame could be pinned.

He said: “When Van Dijk, Mac Allister, and Mbeumo jumped for the ball, referee Michael Oliver had to determine whether a foul had occurred. There is an argument that Van Dijk caught his teammate, Mac Allister, causing a head injury. According to the protocol for head injuries, the match should be stopped at the earliest opportunity.

“This was a difficult situation for the referee. In a split second, Manchester United broke forward and scored. Was there an opportunity to stop play? Oliver needed to be certain a head injury had occurred, and before he could make that assessment, Manchester United had already scored. Therefore, no blame can be attached to the match officials.

“In recent weeks, we’ve seen instances where referees have stopped play for injuries that ultimately were not serious. It’s a fine margin for officials, but overall, they manage the head injury protocol effectively.”

The forward’s goal stood anyway, and Mbeumo proved his worth for Manchester United by scoring in what was a historic win for the Red Devils.

PGMOL explains why Bryan Mbeumo’s goal was allowed to stand

Speaking during commentary, Peter Drury explained: “The information we’re getting from the PGMOL is the referee didn’t see the injury, so therefore the referee couldn’t stop the game.”

Arne Slot also acknowledged the incident in his post-match press conference, indicating that it was Liverpool’s fault for not reacting to the danger in the aftermath of the incident.

“I think the main thing we should do now – I should do now – is not complain, blame, or do these kinds of things,” Slot told reporters.

“So the only thing I was thinking at that moment in time is that we could have done much better after Maca was on the floor; we should have done better.

“But the health care of a player is something that is important, and if a player needs to have four stitches, you would hope that everybody understands that he needs immediate treatment.

“But it didn’t happen, but again, we could have done better. So that’s not the reason why we lost this game today.”

Liverpool have now lost three on the bounce and will be hoping their fortunes change as they take on Brentford on Saturday evening.

As for Manchester United, they host Brighton & Hove Albion, where, in contrast, they’ll be looking to make it three wins in a row.

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