The Amex Stadium was doomy and gloomy on Saturday lunchtime as Manchester United were beaten 2-1 by Brighton.
Amad Diallo scored the sole goal for Erik ten Hag’s team, with Joao Pedro having the deciding strike late in the second half.
However, the game had VAR play a pretty substantial role with Manchester United having not one but two goals ruled out.
These were Marcus Rashford in the first half and then Alejandro Garnacho in the second half.
The Garnacho goal in particular has caused quite a stir, but the Premier League’s official explanation of the latest VAR decision to affect Manchester United makes it crystal clear.
Why was Alejandro Garnacho’s goal disallowed?
In the 70th minute, Garnacho thought he had put United ahead and grabbed his third goal contribution of the season in the process, however after a VAR check, this was not the case.
VAR reviewed the goal and determined that the final touch had actually come off Joshua Zirkzee, who was offside after his efforts to get on the end of Bruno Fernandes‘ cross.
The Premier League Match Centre on X explained the decision from VAR.
“Zirkzee’s goal was awarded on-field. The VAR checked for a potential offside against Zirkzee and recommended that the goal was disallowed. Play restarted with a Brighton free-kick.”
This was not the only goal United had revoked on Saturday, with Rashford’s bizarre 33rd-minute goal not counting either.
Rashford was in an offside position initially before he had his shot denied and it then deflected off his heel and into the net.
Manchester United will feel unlucky
Losing by such narrow margins will always be painful especially when a victory was within touching distance.
If Garnacho’s shot was a few centimetres to the left, United walk out with all three points and plenty of praise.
For United the performance will tell them plenty of encouraging signs, however, this will not be said about the two conceded goals which were very poor as Phil Jones explained.
Ten Hag will also be left annoyed that he suffered an injury blow here, with Mason Mount’s half-time withdrawal being due to this.
Ultimately, both VAR calls were the right ones as frustrating as that might be. Logical thinking would tell us that if United keep creating, eventually the goals will flow.
Leave a Reply