Liverpool and Everton drew a fierce, controversial 2-2 draw in Saturday’s Premier League match at Goodison Park. The Toffees remain undefeated and are at the top of the table with the result as Jordan Henderson’s late goal was offside by the smallest margin and Sadio Mane considered the player out of position.
The Reds took a three-minute lead, took the lead twice and had all three points taken away by an offside call that seemed the wrong decision.
Everton, who finished the game with 10 men, haven’t beaten Liverpool in over a decade. The red lost star defender Virgil van Dijk due to an injury in that game.
Below are three takeaways from the game:
Everton 2, Liverpool 2 (FT)
⚽ Liverpool: mane (3 ‘)
⚽ Everton: Michael Keane (19 ‘)
⚽ Liverpool: Wrong (72 ‘)
⚽ Everton: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (81 ‘)
More VAR controversies
This game had many wild moments, but none was bigger than the referee of the video assistant who canceled Liverpool’s belated winning goal. Henderson’s obvious winner seemed like a legitimate target, and it was actually surprising to have it checked. But it seems they have established that Mane is sidelined by the smallest margin I have ever seen. Look here:
It’s ridiculous at this point. Naming things that are marginal just feels like a waste of time. Make it either the top of the shoulder or the top of the feet and save the fan base from going through those grueling reviews.
Everton will get away as big fans of VAR while Liverpool will hate it more than ever. But we can probably all agree that sometimes it does more harm than good.
Getty Images
Liverpool requests review of VAR application
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp wasn’t shy about the whole situation.
“Look, I’m a real VAR fan, but you would expect your decision to be the right one, especially offside. We scored a goal at Aston Villa once and they said the armpit was offside – sounds weird , we got it, “said Klopp. “This time, the picture I’ve seen on the laptop once, there is no armpit, there is nothing, we are just not on the sidelines.
“I’ve had about 10 interviews since then and everyone tells me it wasn’t offside and it obviously doesn’t lift my spirits. They’ve all obviously seen it more often. It’s difficult. We lost a player in a situation where the VAR wasn’t was involved with Virgil and then maybe someone else in the red card situation and scored a legitimate goal – whatever the word – that didn’t count, so obviously not our day, but the performance was the performance I wanted to see. “
As a result, Liverpool have asked the Premier League to review the VAR decision which, according to The Guardian, could have cost them three valuable points.
Toffees are lucky enough to end up with just one red
Everton may have ended up with 10 players after Richarlison’s horror duel against Thiago Alcantara, but they should have finished with nine. How on earth was goalkeeper Jordan Pickford allowed to stay offside from Van Dijk after his challenge?
First the horror tackle:
Now to van Dijk: Initially, many believed that it could not be checked by van Dijk and were sidelined. VAR chose to check the offside rather than the potential red card when they could and they canceled the call. Just look at van Dijk’s leg:
That has to be a red card. It’s reckless, dangerous, and just plain violent. Sure, Pickford probably didn’t want to go in like that, but that doesn’t stop the fact that he did. Toffees are super happy.
Van Dijk and Thiago face injury breaks
As a result of this nasty challenge, it seems like van Dijk may be on hold for an extended period of time with an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury. Despite the team awaiting confirmation, beIN Sports reports that the Red’s star defender is aiming for a seven to eight month recovery.
Here’s what Klopp said after the game:
“I dont know [how serious it is]I don’t know, but it’s not good. Virgil played for us I don’t know how many games in a row. He plays with pain, he plays with pretty much anything, but he couldn’t keep playing. This is not good.”
Van Dijk isn’t the only Liverpool man heading for a scan. Thiago could be dealing with a knee injury and will be running a scan after Richarlison’s Red Card challenge. It’s a big blow for the Reds ahead of their Champions League start on Wednesday.
A better result for Everton in the end
In the end, the toffees have to take it. They went down twice, got lucky with VAR and should have got two red cards. We thank this team for fighting their way back, not giving in, and continuing to look like a competitor.
After that Mohamed Salah goal to make it 2-1 in the second half, creativity didn’t make it feel over and Adrian was in goal for Liverpool.
When Carlo Ancelotti’s side were looking for this hero and were sure to have a chance, it was again the most consistent player in Dominic Calvert-Lewin, becoming the club’s first player to score in his first five Premier League games in nearly 100 years.
A fair result? Probably not. Both teams looked sharp but VAR went twice against Liverpool when it probably shouldn’t have been.
The result keeps Everton first, and because of that, they’ll be the happier of the two.
