Extra-long VAR creates super long game without hindering the suspense of the Premier League s five-game competition continues to the end

Sports Weekly All Media Original

Last Saturday's FA Cup final, Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson's handball outside the penalty area was not awarded, making the referee and VAR a hot topic in English football again. In the league Sunday, VAR still failed to escape the fate of being discussed. This time it was not that the penalty was controversial, but that it took too long, which actually took 112 minutes for a 90-minute game. Isn’t such a long game a bit painful for both sides? There must be this feeling. However, Nottingham Forest, the winner, was satisfied. They not only scored 3 points, but also retained the suspense of the last round of the Premier League in the Premier League.

Back from the results, this delay of VAR intervention for 6 minutes is really crucial. If Nottingham's second goal in the 61st minute was invalid, then their lead would be tied by West Ham, and there would be no way to talk about the three-pointer. Regarding this incident, the core of the problem is that when Mirenkovic headed the ball with Ellanga's free kick, his teammate Nicholas Dominguez was in an offside position, but the latter may be in a "unattack profitable state" and did not have a substantial impact on the game, so it added a certain difficulty to the penalty.

According to the official account of the "Premier League Game Center", in this incident, VAR was unable to use semi-automatic offside technology to determine whether the goal was valid. At the same time, there were also problems in the communication between the video assistant referee team and the referee on duty. In other words, the video assistants in the "little black room" can only rely on their own to animate the lines and cannot communicate with the scene in time, which leads to long-term delays. West Ham coach Porter joked afterwards: "I think they used up all the ink."

Since the game was interrupted for a long time, stoppage time naturally cannot be short, which is a bit difficult for Nottingham, who was recovered one goal in the 86th minute. In fact, in the 102nd minute of the game, West Ham center Phil Kruger rushed straight to the city gate with a corner kick, but the goalkeeper Sails saved it hard. After this ball, the agreed 11-minute stoppage time in the second half, and the timer was officially over until the 106th minute, which made coach Nuno feel like he had survived the disaster. After the game, he said half-jokingly: "I really hope that the game will be over at that time (blocking Phil Kruger's header)!"

The old saying goes that if you survive a disaster, you will have good fortune. After this battle, Nottingham Forest definitely hopes that their blessings have not been exhausted. The team ended its last four games with a victory. After 1 loss and 2 draws from the Premier League in the past three rounds, Nuno's team still held the tail of the Fifth Army before the last round of the Premier League. According to current points ranking, Nottingham, which is temporarily ranked 7th in 65 points, will participate in next season's European Cup. They cannot "downshift", but they still have a chance to squeeze into a more advanced European game - to face Chelsea at home in the last round. As long as Forest defeats this direct competitor, they will definitely at least get tickets to the Europa League.

As for whether you have any hope of entering the Champions League, it depends on the results of other opponents, that is, the 3-6th team in the Premier League. Currently, Liverpool and Arsenal have both secured Champions League seats, while Newcastle, Chelsea, Villa, Manchester City and Nottingham will have the final battle for the remaining three places. Among them, Manchester City also ranked 6th with 65 points, but they have two games in hand and as long as they win all of them, they will definitely not worry about qualification for the Champions League. The only thing that makes people suspicious is that Blue Moon lost a bit cowardly in the FA Cup final, and Haaland's comeback seems to have weakened Guardiola's team. If they still play against Bournemouth and Fulham next, they will still play like they were against Crystal Palace, what if they will capsize?

Relatively speaking, Newcastle, which temporarily ranked third with 66 points, seems very safe. Although they lost to Arsenal 0-1 last weekend, leaving the regret of not being able to lock in the Champions League qualification in advance, the initiative is still entirely in their own hands. In the last round against Everton, the Magpies have a high probability of celebrating the team's 2-3-year Champions League tournament at home. As for Chelsea, they not only want to stop Nottingham Forest from "beating the upper hand", but also try their best to win. After all, the Blues only have a goal difference against Villa, who is ranked 5th, and currently only has one more point against Manchester City, which is one game less. The last round draw is likely to cause its ranking to drop by two places, from the Champions League to the UEFA Cup.

Villa, who entered the Champions League quarterfinals this year, can save his tickets depends on the expressions of other teams, but they are also the "easiest" teams to compete for five in the last two rounds of the schedule. Last Friday, they beat Tottenham 2-0 at home to prepare for the UEFA Cup final, and their last round opponent will be Manchester United, who ended the UEFA Cup final in the mid-week. Whether the Red Devils are excited to win the championship or frustrated to get nothing, their home court is no longer terrible - Manchester United has lost the league game at Old Trafford nine times this season, and they are still one game away.