Rodri's wild VAR claim is good news for Liverpool with pressure on for Man City

Rodri lashed out at the officiating during Manchester City's 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday, as the defending champions lost ground in the title race.

City missed out on the chance to move to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool as they failed to win at the Etihad, while the Reds' kept up their good form with a 4-1 win over Brentford earlier in the day.

Speaking after the game which City, drew despite an xG score of 3.04-1.80 in the host's favour, Rodri chose to complain about referee Andy Madley.

The Spaniard told Match of the Day: "I don't want to talk about the referee, but I don't remember a game with so many VAR challenges and not one is for us. Come on man.

"You always see the face of referee like 'move on, move on', so it's a bit frustrating but it is what it is."

While City came from a goal down to salvage a point thanks to Rodri's equaliser less than ten minutes from time, Pep Guardiola's side were left aggrieved by a decision not to award a late penalty in their favour after a VAR check for a Levi Colwill handball.

Earlier in the half, Kyle Walker also protested that he should've been given a penalty after a challenge from Raheem Sterling.

However, regardless of any marginal call during the game, any implication that City are being unfairly treated by referees is laughable.

Rodri's anti-official comments come across as entitled (and more than a bit rattled), while public questioning of refereeing like this only undermines more serious points raised during a season in which Liverpool have literally lost a game because they had a perfectly good goal ruled out because of a VAR failure.

Ultimately, City's dropped points on Saturday came down to a failure in finishing rather than VAR, with Rodri the only scorer from 31 shots taken by the team in total.

Erling Haaland, meanwhile, was the biggest offender in terms of City's shortcomings on the night as he spurned an xG of 1.88, according to the Athletic.

The Norwegian was seen pushing a TV camera out of his face in frustration at the final whistle on a difficult night for City.

Guardiola's side can no longer reclaim the Premier League's top spot by winning their game in hand, as they sit four points behind Liverpool.

The two sides are poised to meet at Anfield on 10 March for what could be a defining moment in the title race.

From Liverpool's perspective, Rodri's outburst will only be welcomed as a sign that, despite all their experience, recent success and perceptions as being cucumber-cool and machine-like, the cracks can still show at City when things go against them.

The pressure is on.