“The Law States” – Former PGMOL Chief explains why Crystal Palace’s late victory stood as a new VAR ruling is confirmed.
Following late drama against Crystal Palace, Liverpool received a key VAR call.
A fresh VAR judgement was made following Liverpool’s Premier League match against Palace at Selhurst Park, which included two thrilling late goals.
On Saturday, the Reds suffered their first setback of the season, losing 2-1 in a thrilling contest in which Eddie Nketiah scored a late winner for the hosts.
Liverpool believed they had saved a point with Federico Chiesa’s late equaliser, but VAR had to review the goal for a probable foul on Mohamed Salah. After a review, officials determined there was no infraction and the goal remained.
According to Premier League Match Centre on X, “the referee’s decision was checked and upheld, with no clear evidence of Salah handling the ball during the buildup.”
However, just moments after Liverpool equalised, Nketiah scored again, with Marc Guehi assisting, sealing Palace’s triumph.
There were several other heated moments during the game. Liverpool manager Arne Slot received a yellow card for leaving his technical area when challenging Ismaila Sarr’s earlier goal. Replays revealed that the corner that led to Sarr’s goal may have been given incorrectly, with the final touch appearing to come from a Palace player.
Liverpool eventually equalised in the 87th minute when Ryan Gravenberch’s cross was not cleared, allowing the Italian to score. It appeared to be another late Reds comeback—their seventh of the season—but Palace had the final word.
Nketiah scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time to seal the victory. The goal came after the allotted time, which enraged Slot.
The former Arsenal striker’s first goal of the season came unusually late, after most other Premier League games had concluded. A 10-minute delay in the game caused by a medical emergency in the stands, reported to the referee by Daniel Muñoz and Dominik Szoboszlai, resulted in extended play.
Nketiah’s stoppage-time goal ended Liverpool’s seven-game winning streak, with Palace once again providing a stumbling block for Slot’s team.
The 2-1 victory keeps Palace only three points behind Liverpool, and they remain the only unbeaten team in the league this season.
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