Liverpool has come to the end of the year with a 13-point lead in the title race. The Reds had victory over Wolves amidst more Video Assistant Referee controversies.
Mane slotted past keeper Rui Patricio after it bounced off Adam Lallana’s shoulder in the box and scored the winner in the first half.
There was a lengthy VAR review for handball form Lallana before referee Anthony Taylor confirmed the goal.
Wolves thereafter had a goal disallowed by VAR. This after a marginal offside by Jonny after Pedro Neto had drilled his shot into the bottom left corner on the stroke of half-time.
Liverpool had more chances to extend their lead. Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino came close in either side of the break but Wolves were also bright.
Diogo Jota had two big chances in the second half. The first was a shot from a tight angle in the box which flew wide of the right post. The second was a festive gift from Virgil Van Dijk’s mistake which he hit straight at keeper Alisson.
Liverpool has come to the end of the year as resounding favorites to win their first league title in 30 years. On the other side, Wolves ends 2019 in good form despite the defeat at Anfield.
VAR controversy.
Wolves fans were frustrated. They greeted referee Anthony Taylor with a roar of boos on his re-entry to the pitch following the half-time break. They sang of their VAR disapproval as frustrations continued in the second half.
Liverpool’s opening goal appeared to strike the top of Lallana’s shoulder, near hos collar bone rather than his arm. Wolves players felt Virgil Van Dijk controlled the ball with his hand before playing the long pass to Lallana.
Wolves also suffered a blow when Neto’s goal was disallowed. The reason being, the Spanish wing-back Jonny had a toe offside.
Wolves skipper, Conor Coady said his team felt “massively” hard done by and believes the current VAR system is “not working.”
“In the second half, we controlled the game and nullified Liverpool to hardly anything. It is disappointing that we are stood here talking about VAR rather than the game and the way Wolves played.” Said Coady, former Liverpool trainee.