Roy Keane, a former midfielder who is now a pundit for Sky Sports, said that Virgil van Dijk, who scored the game-winning goal in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over West Ham United on Sunday afternoon, was possibly fortunate that VAR did not disallow his goal.
After Van Dijk saved his and Andy Roberson’s blushes in the 89th minute of their match at Anfield over the weekend, Arne Slot’s team increased their lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table to 13 points.
Mohamed Salah’s brilliant, outside-the-boot pass stunned the home crowd, and Luis Diaz opened the score within eighteen minutes. However, with four minutes remaining, Robertson poked the ball into his own net, putting Graham Potter’s West Ham back in the match.
Keane and Les Ferdinand were unable to determine who was at fault for the defensive blunder between the captain and Robertson that allowed the east Londoners to equalise in the 86th minute of regulation time. The former commentator stated:
“[Aaron] Wan-Bissaka performs well, and West Ham posed a threat.” I don’t know who is responsible for this. Les [Ferdinand] and I are examining it; is Andy Robertson required to visit? He obviously has a very irritated expression.
Van Dijk, who is considered one of the best Premier League players of all time, climbed to the top of the other box and hammered his header past a helpless Alphonse Areola, who was rooted to the spot, to make it 2-1 and win the match regardless of who was at fault.
However, as Van Dijk leaped to meet Alexis Mac Allister’s inch-perfect corner, former Manchester United captain Keane questioned whether Andy Madley and the VAR team missed a possible shove on West Ham striker Nicklas Fullkrug.
Keane questioned why VAR didn’t intervene after the altercation in the West Ham box during Sky Sports’ coverage of the match. He then praised Slot’s team for doing “what champions do” by searching deep to find all three points.
“That cute little shove isn’t there! VAR obviously doesn’t want to look at that, but I thought they would. However, Liverpool finds a way to win, which is what champions do.
The former midfielder was retaliated against by presenter Kelly Cates, whose father, Kenny Dalglish, is of Liverpool descent: “Roy, as you know, VAR is constantly looking and reviewing every situation, particularly those involving goal decisions.”
You can hear Keane murmur, “Of course they are,” in the background as Cates was in the middle of reminding the home crowd that VAR is always there to correct a bad call if necessary.
For just the second time in their illustrious history, the Reds are now six points away from winning the Premier League. All Slot’s team needs is two victories from their final six games, since they already have one hand on the renowned trophy.
Slot, who is now regarded as one of the Premier League’s top managers, has the opportunity to make history, and if they win the job, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Arsenal might all be eligible to present Liverpool with a Guard of Honour.
