Florian Wirtz felt he was offside for his controversial goal in Liverpool’s dramatic 2-2 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Liverpool looked to have claimed all three points when Cody Gakpo prodded home from Jeremie Frimpong’s cross in added time. But Fulham went down the other end and snatched a draw thanks to a long-range screamer from Harrison Reed, much to the disappointment of Arne Slot.
There was plenty of drama before that with Harry Wilson opening the scoring thanks to a VAR intervention before Wirtz leveled the scores for Liverpool, despite replays appearing to show the German playmaker in an offside position.
Wirtz as played in by Conor Bradley and found the net, before the linesman quickly raised his flag. However after a long VAR delay, the German was deemed to be onside by the tightest of margins.
But speaking to Sky Sports, he admitted: “I was sure it was offside so I didn’t even celebrate. I was happy that I scored but I’d rather take the three points.
“We need points and we wanted three points today. We know there’s no easy game in this league. We are in a difficult situation because we drew two times. It’s not what we want, we want more. We have to get better but it’s still a process.”
A statement from the Premier League explained the decision, reading: “VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal – and established that Wirtz was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded.”
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher also admitted confusion at the decision, telling Sky Sports: “He looks offside to me. When you have the lines and the penalty spot, he definitely looks further forward.
“I know the camera angles can fool you sometimes but I just can’t believe it has been given.”
The Premier League made a decision to change how it interprets VAR decisions at the start of the season, with thicker lines introduced in an attempt to eliminate marginal offside decisions.
The change was made for instances where, like with Wirtz, a toe led to a goal being ruled out.
On the draw, he added: “The intensity we brought on the pitch in the second half was much better. We didn’t press them well in the first half but the second half was much better.
“The strike, there is nothing to say. It was unbelievable. You cannot save that ball. Normally, it doesn’t go in like this. The actions before could have been better, I’m not sure. It was from a throw-in, so we have to be better.
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