Liverpool v Manchester City drew more than three times the Super Bowl’s global audience
USA Network figures put Sunday’s Anfield game at 700 million to 750 million viewers worldwide, against roughly 220 million for Super Bowl 60.
Sunday’s Premier League meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City was watched by an estimated 700 million to 750 million people around the world, according to data from USA Network, the US cable channel owned by Comcast.
That is more than three times the roughly 220 million global viewers estimated for Super Bowl 60, which was played on the same day. In the UK the football was shown on Sky.
City won 2-1 at Anfield, a result that keeps them within reach of league leaders Arsenal, although with 13 games left the London side remain firmly in control of the title race.
The Cherki decision
The game produced one of the most unusual refereeing calls the sport has seen. In injury time, City’s Rayan Cherki hit a long-range shot from his own half into Liverpool’s unguarded goal, an effort many viewed as a Goal of the Season contender.
The referee then pulled play back for a foul on Erling Haaland moments earlier and showed a red card to Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai for denying the City striker a clear chance to score, so the goal did not stand.
The call was technically correct. Gary Neville, the former Manchester United player, had called it a “kill joy” moment while commentating for Sky, and returned to it on The Gary Neville Podcast.
“We know that the referee and the VAR officials have got to the right conclusion, but if you’re in the camp that VAR’s ruining football and VAR takes the joy and entertainment out of the game, that is one of the best bits of evidence that you could possibly want,” he said.
“That was a great football moment where you just got absolute bedlam at the end of a game, players fouling each other, the ball dribbling in the net, a team coming from 1-0 down who have hardly ever won at Anfield and basically gone on to win 3-1.”
Across the Atlantic, much of the Super Bowl conversation focused on the choice of half-time entertainment rather than the game itself, which the Seattle Seahawks won 29-13 against the New England Patriots.
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