The conditions football fans were treated to this weekend were nothing short of utopic. Not only was the English Premier League in full swing, but the Champions League returned after a two-week hiatus, and with it, fans were treated to competitive matchups all weekend long. Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were pitted against each other, clawing for the table’s top spot. Manchester City looked to keep their undefeated start alive against the severely outmatched Wolverhampton Wanders F.C. With these matches came much drama, and the results of these fixtures raised many questions; we will discuss this and more in this week’s edition of Sargeant’s Orders.
Wolverhampton Wanders F.C. vs. Manchester City
Unless you are a diehard fan of these two clubs, this is probably not a game you had circled on the calendar. Wolverhampton came into this matchup 1-1-4, near the bottom of the table, doing anything and everything to fight off relegation; however, they faced a tall task against the 6-0-0 Treble winners Manchester City. Led by Erling Haaland, who broke the Premier League single-season goal record with 36, City came into this matchup as the favorites. Conversely, the Wolves don’t have that big-time player; they finished near the bottom of the table last season. City wasted no time getting the 23-year-old star involved, as not even five minutes in, Haaland had a look at goal, but Craig Dawson’s ferocious defense caused him to miss. This became a recurring theme, as Dawson pocketed him all game long. Because of this, City’s offense was in trouble. Nearly eight minutes later, it was Wolverhampton putting the pedal to the metal as Pedro Neto intercepted a pass near midfield and took off running. With three defenders swarming him, Neto had no choice but to deliver a prayer into the box, and got the lucky deflection goal, giving the Wolves the 1-0 advantage. It took Man City until the 58th minute to level the contest, as Julián Álvarez delivered a beautiful free kick that José Sá had no chance at saving. It was City’s sloppy defense that led to their demise, as eight minutes later, Hwang Hee-chan was left unguarded in the box and let a shot fly. His initial shot missed, but teammate Matheus Cunha got the rebound and gave Hee-chan a perfect pass and the game-winning shot for Wolverhampton. Ultimately, this game raised some questions. Can Manchester City compete with the top European clubs? With the departure of İlkay Gündoğan and the injury of captain Kevin De Bruyne, Man City doesn’t have the same midfield presence. This duo did a great job last season setting Haaland up for numerous scoring opportunities, and without them, there is a real question mark on the impact Haaland will have in the interim.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool
From the opening kick, it was apparent this would be a match riddled with drama. Following City’s shocking defeat, this fixture was all the more important. If Liverpool won, they would be two points ahead of the champions. A Tottenham win would put them them within a point of Man City. Liverpool’s day started on the wrong foot, as 26 minutes in, Curtis Jones controversially received a red card for his tackle on Yves Bissouma. Initially, Jones received a yellow card; however, the Video Assistant Referee called for a review and deemed his foul warranted a red card. The consequences of a red card to a team are devastating, as the player is ejected and faces a 3-game suspension, while the team has to play the rest of the match a man down. Drama ensued in the 33rd minute, where Liverpool had a key scoring opportunity as Mohamed Salah served a perfect ball in for Luis Díaz. Díaz had a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper and smashed away a perfect ball, giving Liverpool the early 1-0 advantage — or so they thought.
The referee raised the flag for offside, so the goal didn’t stand. Then the VAR reviewed it. The television replay was clear as day: Díaz was onside. Despite this, after a review, he was ruled offside and the goal didn’t count. The question on everybody’s mind was, what happened? The Premier League released audio of the play in question, and the VAR made the right call: he was onside, so the goal stood. The VAR thought he was checking for a goal rather than a disallowed goal, as this was the original call. The VAR said the words “check complete,” mistakenly telling the referee that the initial offside call was correct when it wasn’t even close. This 10-second miscommunication massively impacted the trajectory of this game.
Nearly a minute later, Tottenham seized the momentum, as Son Heung-Min scored a fastbreak goal, giving the Spurs the 1-0 advantage. Right before the end of the first half, Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo leveled the contest for Anfield. Unfortunately, Gakpo was shaken up after this play and left the game. The second half for the Reds didn’t go their way, as Diogo Jota was red-carded, leaving his team with nine players. This is where the tides began to turn. Liverpool’s offense ceased to exist at this point, and for 25 minutes, they could only play defense. The Reds’ defense played well, and in added time, Joël Matip conceded an own goal, sealing his club’s defeat. With a loss like this, it’s hard not to think, what if the VAR took the extra second to understand the call on the field and score Díaz’s goal correctly? Unfortunately, the fans were let down as this egregious mistake potentially cost Liverpool three points. While some may not think it matters, it does. Every year, there is last-day drama where a team needs a point in their final match to avoid relegation or be promoted. It would be a shame if Liverpool narrowly missed out on promotion because of this egregious mistake.