Gary Neville says Keita was lucky to not be sent off in Liverpool win

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Gary Neville has told Sky Sports (broadcast on 19/4; 21:49) that Naby Keita was lucky not to be sent off during the second-half as Liverpool beat Manchester United 4-0 on Tuesday.

The Reds have moved themselves back to the top of the Premier League. They were absolutely outstanding against Ralf Rangnick’s men.

Liverpool were devastating going forward, particularly in the first-half. And they recovered from a blip at the start of the second-half to ultimately double their lead from the break.

The game got a bit feisty towards the end. Hannibal Mejbri was probably one foul away from receiving two yellow cards shortly after coming on. And Bruno Fernandes was booked for a nasty challenge.

But Liverpool were potentially fortunate to keep 11 on the pitch also. Keita was booked for a foul on Jesse Lingard. And it did appear that it was checked by VAR.

Ultimately, no further action was taken. But replays showed that the Guinea international did appear to step on Lingard with some force.

Keita could have certainly had few complaints had he been sent off. And Neville clearly felt that he got away with one.

“I thought that Keita one was worse early on, that’s a poor one. He’s a lucky boy, Keita,” he told Sky Sports.

Naby Keita needed that slice of luck in Liverpool win

Keita has had his fair share of bad luck during his time at Anfield. But some may feel that he received a slice of good fortune with that challenge.

It would have been a real blow for Keita had he been dismissed. He has not had the easiest spell. And it had seemed that he had turned a corner in more recent times.

Picking up a needless red card would have represented a backwards step for the 27-year-old. Thankfully, the referee and VAR did not see the decision the same way as Neville did.