Good post. However I must take issue regarding the 2nd goal, it is conclusive. Laws clearly state if play is interfering with play or distracts defender whilst in offside position it is offside. All pundits I have heard say it was offside as Firmino being there caused Mitchell to go towards him rather the Oxlade-Chamberlain. Friend was told immediately there was no reason to rule goal out, he touched his earpiece, so some communication was relayed.

I suppose one could consider that even if Firmino had been onside Mitchell might still have been drawn inside towards him rather than in a wider position picking up Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Overall a poor goal to concede from a defensive organisational standpoint and the fact that Jota was in acres of space,unchallenged outside the area and had all the time to deliver the cross.
One can take umbrage with the officating but the goals we have been conceding are a real cause for concern.

Firstly, let's be clear - the penalty decision robbed us of what very small chance remained of atoning for yet more s*** Palace defending against a set-piece and a cross in the air. Liverpool had us chasing shadows for the first half an hour, but that's exactly when we most need to hang on in the game and avoid poor defensive mistakes. We didn't.

For the first goal, Schlupp is marking Fabinho but leaves him late to run with Van Dyke, thereby blocking what small chance Andersen had of tracking the Dutchman. For the second, our midfield shape is so bad that Andersen gets dragged over to meet Robertson, leaving Jota in oceans of space, and pulling both Guehi and Mitchell over into a fragile 2v3 behind him.

Even if we somehow overlook the poor quality of our finishing we have to mull over the poor defending when analysing the defeat. I'm sure our manager will be looking at both issues far more than the officiating, whatever he says in public.

Turning to the decisions nonetheless: VAR itself is neither good nor bad for the game really, it's all about how it is used. Also, remember that we have had our fair share of gifts from VAR, including unreal decisions away at United and Arsenal, so let's not tell ourselves a tale of bias against the little guy here. We are dealing with incredibly poor decisions and inconsistent processes, but not bias.

The argument that offside should be given against Firmino is not conclusive, but what I am amazed by is that VAR didn't seem to look at it even once. Compare this to the twenty replays they poured over for the penalty decision. The on-field ref gave nothing both times, so why the vast difference in VAR approach?

Regarding the penalty, it all comes down to a sensible understanding of what a foul is, and what cheating is. At the start of this season, the league said they would avoid giving soft free-kicks for minimal contacts, and would also stop being overly forensic with VAR replays.

For the first few months that worked so well that Klopp and Solskjaer were moaning about their precious babies being roughed up, and the leagues forward players seemed to be spending a bit more time playing the game and bit less time falling over. The tempo and flow of games became noticeably better once it became more about actually playing, and less about 'winning' decisions.

Now it's lapsed back towards last season: A soul-destroying clipboard full of technicalities rather than a football match.

For me, if you can't see the offence with the naked eye and at normal speed then the margin for human error has not been breached. The normal speed aspect is critical - all pundits agree that slow-motion makes any contact look worse, but what they neglect to mention is that it's only when watching play at normal speed that one can fully appreciate the change of direction and momentum that the nations leading s***houses employ when jumping away from the path of the ball and into a nearby defender, thereby initiating the 'foul' they benefit from. Kane has done it for years, Jota did it on Sunday. Wilf and Ayew have their moments, albeit in a slightly different style.

Many footballers will play as far beyond the letter and spirit of the laws of the game as they are allowed to. These are highly competitive animals under far greater pressure to win than to play honestly, and we are all to blame for that. What I find increasingly difficult to understand is how VAR officials (who referee live games too don't forget), somehow fail to consider the tricks that modern forwards call upon the moment a slow-motion replay switches on.

Baffling, alienating nonsense that pushes me further away from professional football and further towards watching the non-league game instead.

Edited by TheBigToePunt (26 Jan 2022 10.49am)

Very much agree with the bit in highlight, and it certainly suggests the refs are people with very limited experience of playing the game to any sort of reasonable standard. Some of the things they fall for are so obvious to anyone who has, even in real time.

It's ruining the sport - there's 0 honour left in the game, winning at all costs is the only approach these days. It's a shame.

Having just looked at the video again for the first time since the match, I am inclined to come around to your way of thinking on the second goal. Firmino jumps for the ball as high as he can. It doesn't change the fact that Andersen stepped up to Robertson unnecessarily, leaving Guehi and Mitchell 2v3, but does make the absence of any kind of VAR intervention all the more baffling and infuriating.

Also, and as a further addition to my previous rant about our s*** defending for the first Liverpool goal, not only did Schlupp block Andersen from tracking Van Dyke, but Edouard (who had been detailed to occupy the zone in which Van Dyke arrived) literally just walked away from the danger area as soon as the corner was delivered, when he should have been taking a step or two backwards and at least trying to clear it. I have carefully considered the various technical and tactical explanations for his actions, and have concluded that the guy is a total f***ing coward who didn't fancy putting his head in where it hurts.

Perhaps Van Dyke would have scored anyway, but don't just walk away from your f***ing job.