Tottenham very nearly snatched a point against Manchester City immediately after a major VAR controversy. Erling Haaland gave Pep Guardiola’s side the lead after just 12 minutes at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and though Spurs pushed for an equaliser, they were unable to find one.
Wilson Odobert, Son Heung-min and Pape Matar Sarr all went very close, but none of the trio or any Tottenham player for that matter, could find a way past Ederson. For the first time in a while, Ange Postecoglou was able to rotate which saw Dejan Kulusevski, Son and Djed Spence all removed from the starting XI.
The trio were introduced in the second half with the Tottenham captain forcing a smart stop from the City goalkeeper. Just before that, Odobert was unable to direct a fierce Pedro Porro cross in at the back post. Arguably the best chance for the hosts came deep into added time after City were denied a second.
With Haaland causing problems in the box, the ball eventually fell into his path and he subsequently poked an effort past Guglielmo Vicario. The Tottenham players quickly appealed for handball with some major confusion then following as to what the decision was given on the pitch by Jarred Gillett.
A lengthy check then ensued before play restarted with a free-kick for Tottenham as it was deemed there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the initial call which made it clear Gillet had blown for a Haaland handling it. To clear up any confusion, the Premier League Match Centre on X released a very clear statement.
“#TOTMCI – 90+4’ The referee’s call of no goal for a handball by Haaland was checked and confirmed by VAR – with no conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field decision,” it read. Quickly after that, Tottenham raced up the other hand with Sarr heading over unmarked from close range.
As he was denied a second, Haaland was unsurprisingly disappointed by the decision. “No I think it’s the wrong decision, clearly. I think it’s more of a penalty than a free-kick,” he told TNT Sport.
“But I think because he gave the decision on the pitch, that’s the reason why. I never think that should be disallowed. I think it’s completely wrong, but that’s me. It was a great goal though, so sad.”
As a result of that defeat, Tottenham remained in 13th and 11 points away from the top six with 11 games still to play.
The Europa League will now likely be the priority for Postecoglou and Co. with the first leg of their last-16 tie against AZ Alkmaar arriving on Thursday, March 6.
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