Liverpool survived by the skin of their teeth as Wolves produced one of the close football scores of the weekend in the FA Cup. In the 82nd minute, Toti backheeled Hwang Hee-low Chan’s centre into the net to ignite wild celebrations in the opposing end. However, the celebrations were quickly put to an end when a flagged offside in the build-up was upheld by VAR, despite the fact that video official Mike Dean did not have a camera angle of the alleged offence. Alisson’s terribly errant ball, which gave Goncalo Guedes an open goal after 26 minutes, gave Wolves the lead in a historic FA Cup match at Anfield. The hosts’ equaliser, on the other hand, came right before halftime and was of the highest calibre. Darwin Nunez received a fantastic pass from Trent Alexander-40-yard Arnold’s cross-field pass, and he finished past Matija Sarkic with ease.
After halftime, Liverpool changed the course of the match when Toti nodded in Cody Gakpo’s deep cross. Due to Toti’s purposeful play of the ball, Mo Salah was controversially ruled to have been put in an advantageous position, which he took advantage of. After Chan scored his first club goal in 11 months to break through Liverpool’s flimsy defence, Wolves were given some breathing room. Toti’s overturned winner, though, prevented Lopetegui from having the best moment of his brief Wolves career to yet. In the midst of a schedule that is already jam-packed later this month, both teams will now play a repeat at Molineux.
Gakpo and Salah both took advantage of their early openings during a strong Liverpool start, but even then, their carelessness at the back threatened to cost them. Joel Matip was fortunate to escape unharmed when Guedes caught him off guard as he dribbled outside the Liverpool box. Soon after, Alisson had a less fortunate situation when, while under minimal pressure, he passed right to the Portuguese and was forced to watch as he blasted into an empty net. The score did not flatter Wolves, but just before halftime, a move they had little chance of preventing saw their lead taken away.
Nunez was perfectly positioned to receive Alexander-sweeping Arnold’s cross-field ball, and his finish across Sarkic was almost as good. With Liverpool’s second goal seven minutes into the second half, the offside controversy started. Salah pounced on Toti’s errant header, which he might not have attempted if the forward hadn’t been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and slammed in a gift goal that VAR confirmed after a quick review. Rayan Ait-Nouri was given a clear shot at Alisson after being passed through by Wolves, but he missed it.
After exchanging passes with Cunha, substitute Hwang, who had recently returned from a standout performance for South Korea at the World Cup, quickly alleviated their temporary sense of unfairness. But after Matheus Nunes was flagged for offside in the buildup, Toti’s apparent winner from a corner was disallowed, angering the visitors and Lopetegui in particular. After a protracted VAR hold-up, Dean upheld the on-field decision without giving himself a chance to examine it, forcing Wolves to accept a draw and preserving Liverpool’s chances of reclaiming the trophy.
“I couldn’t see it on the playing field. It was a target in my eyes. We had one view that I saw in the locker room that I believed was offside, but I wouldn’t swear on it. It was the player in the left corner.],” Jurgen Klopp said. “If I’m correct, the VAR didn’t have this perspective. When an angle was missed during the Arsenal game, everyone assumed it was offside, but we were unable to establish it. I have no idea how these things may occur, but they did. I can thus relate to Wolves’ frustrations because you want to make the right choice now just like we did back then.”
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