Liverpool fans were made to wait to properly celebrate after Luis Diaz equalized against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, as VAR overturned the on-field decision.
Anfield was silenced after former Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke gave Tottenham the lead inside 12 minutes, but Diaz responded four minutes later. Dominik Szoboszlai played a stunning pass across the face of goal which left Diaz with an empty net, but the assistant referee raised his flag for offside.
It wasn’t Diaz who was initially deemed in an offside position, but the official thought that Szoboszlai made his run too early before assisting the winger. However, a brief VAR review confirmed that Szoboszlai was onside, and Liverpool was awarded with the goal.
The incident was explained on the Premier League Match Centre’s official X account, as they wrote: “VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal for Liverpool – and determined that Szoboszlai was in an onside position in the build-up and recommended that the goal was awarded.”
The goal being awarded was key for Liverpool, as they entered Sunday needing one point to be crowned Premier League champions. However, they quickly took the lead through Alexis Mac Allister, who fired his strike into the roof of the Tottenham net from outside the area.
After 34 minutes, Cody Gakpo added to Liverpool’s lead following a Mac Allister corner, as Tottenham failed to clear the ball from the penalty area, Gakpo then received a yellow card for removing his shirt in celebration.
There was a party atmosphere at Anfield ahead of the game, with Liverpool on the verge of winning its second Premier League title, and 20th success in England’s top division. Liverpool ended the 30-year wait for a title during the 2019-20 season under former head coach Jurgen Klopp, but the global pandemic meant that they couldn’t celebrate in front of fans.
The prospect of winning the title in front of a sold-out Anfield crowd gave Liverpool a “big responsibility” according to current head coach Arne Slot, who stressed the importance of getting the job done on Friday. Slot looks set to lift the Premier League title in his first season as Liverpool coach, but remained focused on the job in hand.
“First of all, that’s a big responsibility because we are aware that the last time this club won the league it was Covid time. So everybody is looking forward to Sunday but we know that there is still a job to be done and that’s at least one point,” Slot said.
(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“That’s what we know and, hopefully, our fans know as well and they support us in the best possible way they can – like they have all season – and are aware of the fact that we still need a point. We are definitely aware of that. It’s a nice game to look forward to but it’s also a responsibility we have for Sunday.”
Liverpool was already a major favorite heading into the game, but with Tottenham’s attention on other competitions, there was added hope that the title would be secured. Tottenham is enduring a disastrous Premier League season, but could save their campaign in the Europa League.
Tottenham faces Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday, and winning the competition would result in a Champions League spot for next season. Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou was a Liverpool fan growing up, but denied any warm feelings about their inevitable title success.
“I’m a 60-year-old adult, I’ve gone past my boyhood crushes. It’s got no impact whatsoever. I have great admiration for the football club. Yes, I supported it when I was younger, but that was 50-odd years ago so we’ve well and truly moved on since then.”
