Chelsea kicked off their 2023-24 Premier League campaign in a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) becoming a topic of discussion once again.
A new Chelsea era under Mauricio Pochettino began today as the Blues dominated the better part of the game with a total of 66% possession.
It took only 17 minutes for the Reds’ Luis Diaz to find the back of the net with a thrilling counterattack.
Mohamed Salah controlled the ball beautifully and then played a low-driven cross into the box was turned into a goal by a sliding Diaz.
The Reds looked more threatening in the starting minutes, Salah’s shot hit the crossbar once but Liverpool’s weak midfield was simply overpowered by Chelsea.
The Blues equalized in the 38th minute with Axel Disasi scoring for the home side.
Just after Chelsea’s equalizer, Ben Chilwell’s goal was disallowed by VAR in the next minute.
However, the VAR controversy took place in the 52nd minute when Dominik Szoboszlai’s in-swinging corner met with Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson’s hand.
Jackson's hand was in line with his chest when it made contact with the ball and VAR reviewed the incident.
After examining the incident, VAR told match referee Anthony Taylor neither to award a penalty to the visitors nor to review it himself on his pitchside monitor and play went on as normal.
Here is how Liverpool fans reacted to the incident
The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes with both teams sharing the points in their first PL match.
However, a strong difference was noted between Liverpool's and Chelsea’s midfield. The Blues did not only look more comfortable with the ball but their midfield was in total control of the game as the Reds could only register one shot on target.
Liverpool’s midfield has weakened with the departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho and the Merseyside club is currently in the transfer market looking for suitable options.
They wanted to sign Jude Bellingham but the Englishman joined the Spanish Real Madrid.
