Liverpool had a second goal disallowed against Burnley after VAR ruled Simon Hooper had interfered with Mohamed Salah’s play at James Trafford for offside. Harvey Elliott hit the ball into the back of the net but his celebration was cut short.
According to the ECHO, Salah’s position within Trafford’s line of sight was a key factor in Hooper’s decision to step in. Then there was the moment when referee Paul Tierney awarded a foul to Darwin Nunez before Cody Gakpo headed home after Liverpool had been kept scoreless. After two decisions went against them at Turf Moor, Jurgen Klopp’s men had to work hard to secure a decisive victory. Liverpool had to wait for extra time to finish the match. But Elliott thought he had succeeded when he scored in front of the traveling fans. He ran onto Ryan Gravenburch’s cross and fired past the Burnley keeper.
Referee Tierney initially allowed the goal, but after checking the stadium monitor, ruled that Salah was offside and blocking Trafford’s view. Therefore, the objective was rejected. Given Elliott’s quick preparation and shooting, it looked impossible for his England Under-21 team-mate to make the save. Replays showed that Burnley defender Jordan Beyer had put Salah in an offside position.
This prompted Klopp to complain about referees who “never played football” (via Anfield) and question how things could not have resulted in a fair goal. Klopp did not press specifically about the striker’s first disallowed goal. – Judge on the spot. Tierney was only a few meters away and the VAR of course saw no reason to overturn the call. Hooper argued that there was “insufficient evidence” to find clear and obvious error.
The call rocked Liverpool and they held on to a narrow lead as Vincent Kompany’s side regained their confidence. However, Diogo Jota, who had not played since November 25, came off the bench to secure victory in close circumstances. The win took the Reds top of the Premier League ahead of Arsenal, who play West Ham on Thursday.
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