Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City achieved their sixth victory in eight matches this season, edging past Wolverhampton Wanderers with a 2-1 win on Sunday. However, the match was marred by controversy surrounding John Stones’ dramatic 95th-minute winner, which initially faced scrutiny for offside.
The Dramatic Moment: Stones’ Controversial Goal
In the dying seconds of stoppage time, Phil Foden delivered a corner that Stones headed into the net. As the City players celebrated, the linesman raised his flag, indicating an offside against Bernardo Silva, who was positioned in front of Wolves goalkeeper José Sá as the ball crossed the line.
Following a video assistant referee (VAR) review, referee Chris Kavanagh was prompted to check the pitchside monitor. Upon review, it was determined that Silva had ducked and was not obstructing Sá’s line of sight, leading to Kavanagh awarding the goal. The Premier League’s match centre clarified, “Stones’ goal was disallowed on-field due to Bernardo Silva being in an offside position and in the goalkeeper’s line of vision… The VAR deemed Bernardo Silva wasn’t in the line of vision and had no impact on the goalkeeper.”
Stones’ Thoughts on the Decision
Stones himself was uncertain, admitting, “I thought it had been chalked off. I tried to speak to the referee but he had a lot of people around him. For me, it is the right call. Obviously, I am going to be biased, but I think it should stand.”
Potential Foul on Sá?
Replays also indicated Silva nudging his fellow Portugal international, Sá, just before the corner was taken. Although a player cannot be offside from a corner, one could argue that Silva’s actions warranted a foul.
Wolves manager Gary O’Neil refrained from commenting on the nudge but expressed his disappointment at the offside decision being overturned. “I am trying to remain calm… There is some grey area that can go either way, and once it was like that, I wasn’t confident it would go our way.”
Pundits Weigh In
Former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender Micah Richards shared his perspective on Sky Sports: “I would like to see a goal be given for this because I don’t think there’s too much contact. But the fact of the matter is that he [Silva] is still in the keeper’s way so it has affected the play in my opinion.”
Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge also commented, saying, “Bernardo has played it perfectly… For me, I do believe he has affected the keeper slightly. It’s the timing of the header.”
The match ended with Manchester City celebrating a contentious victory while Wolverhampton was left to ponder the fine line between fair play and controversy in football.
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