In the Premier League on Saturday night, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Liverpool 2-1, but the result doesn’t even begin to describe the contentious nature of the match.
Tottenham ultimately profited from Manchester City’s shocking loss against Wolves on Saturday by defeating Liverpool in the last seconds.
Joel Matip’s own goal in the 96th minute gave the north London team the victory over Jurgen Klopp’s team for the first time since 2017. Ange Postecoglou’s team appeared to be playing with renewed confidence and attacking intent when Son Heung-Min gave them the lead in the first half, but Cody Gakpo equalized right before halftime.
However, that doesn’t even begin to tell the tale of a match that fans and commentators will discuss for a long time to come, and maybe not in the best way. In particular, Jurgen Klopp was left fuming after his team lost a series of highly contentious situations.
Jones goes over the ball – and off the pitch
Twenty-six minutes into the match, Curtis Jones’ studs appeared to go over the ball and make contact with Yves Bissouma’s ankle, earning him a penalty that converted the match into a flashpoint.
Referee Simon Hooper changed his decision to call red light after VAR intervention. “He’s [the VAR] showing him the end motion and that’s not how it actually is – his foot slips over the top of the ball,” expressed dissatisfaction during a live analysis on Sky Sports. He will receive a red card if his actions endanger the game, he stated. It’s never a red card.
“In general, I believe he has gone in sincere, but his foot scuffs the ball. I don’t think he entered with any malice, but I’m not sure, I never have been these days, and I’m not sure about football either.”
Liverpool’s Curtis Jones was sent off after a late challenge on Yves Bissouma ( Image: Getty Images)
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Diaz denied by VAR blunder
Luis Diaz believed he had given Liverpool the lead after seizing Mohamed Salah’s ball to score, even though his team was reduced to ten men.
However, the offside flag was raised, and a quick VAR review seemed to indicate that the attacker had only gone past the final defender—or not. A more thorough examination seems to support the verdict when the PGMOL made an embarrassing admission following the final whistle.
“PGMOL accepts that there was a major human error during Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool’s first half. The on-field crew of match officials disallowed Luis Diaz’s goal,” a statement stated. That was an egregious factual error that ought to have led to VAR intervention to award the goal. however, the VAR failed to intervene.
Richard Keys provided evidence to show it was the wrong decision ( Image: beIN Sports)
Jota’s quickfire cautions
Destiny Udogie was given two yellow cards in short succession, two fouls, and two situations where it wasn’t obvious if there was any real contact.
During the first caution, Udogie went down as Diogo Jota appeared to have accidentally clipped him while he was trying to surge on a supporting move upfield. Even though the Portuguese star made a reckless slide in the second one, it wasn’t quite as bad as GBH.
Regarding the second infraction, Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp stated, “Once you’ve already been booked, you cannot do that, you cannot lunge into tackles as you know you’re going to cost your team.” Don’t dive into tackles; it doesn’t matter if there is a touch or not.