Liverpool\u2019s latest Premier League draw has been analysed from every possible angle, yet one incident continues to spark debate long after the final whistle.<\/p>\n
Florian Wirtz\u2019s equaliser at Craven Cottage looked extremely tight in real time, prompted a prolonged VAR review, and was ultimately allowed to stand \u2014 despite claims that the German had drifted just beyond the last defender.<\/p>\n
BBC Sport\u2019s football issues correspondent, Dale Johnson, has since clarified why the goal was given, even though the Bayer Leverkusen recruit was technically offside.
\n\u201cWirtz looked offside,\u201d Johnson explained in his BBC Sport analysis. \u201cAnd he was \u2014 by the finest of margins. So why did VAR allow the goal to stand?\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer lies in the Premier League\u2019s continued use of an offside tolerance threshold, even with semi-automated offside technology now in operation.<\/p>\n
Why Wirtz\u2019s goal was allowed as BBC explain VAR leeway
\nAccording to the BBC, officials still apply a margin of error to account for limitations in the technology, particularly when determining the exact moment the ball is played.<\/p>\n
As a result, a player may appear fractionally offside on freeze-frame images but can still be ruled onside once the permitted tolerance is applied.<\/p>\n
Johnson pointed out that when similar guidance was introduced in the 2021\/22 season, referees suggested it could lead to \u201caround 20 extra goals per campaign.\u201d
\nThat context is important, especially as Wirtz\u2019s goal came during Liverpool\u2019s most dominant period of the match, initiated by Conor Bradley\u2019s driving run through Fulham\u2019s midfield.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old showed his quality with a composed finish, and the statistics underline his impact despite featuring for just 76 minutes.
\nWirtz vs Fulham
\nGoals: 1
\nxG: 0.43
\nKey passes: 1
\nTouches: 73
\nPass accuracy: 83%
\nThat performance continues an encouraging trend, with Wirtz now contributing two goals and one assist across his last four starts.<\/p>\n
What Arne Slot said about Wirtz and Liverpool\u2019s approach
\nPost-match, Arne Slot was keen to look beyond VAR controversy and focus on the broader picture.
\n\u201cI would love to create more,\u201d the Liverpool head coach admitted. \u201cBut when you play with the number of midfielders we use and just one attacker against a 5-4-1 away from home, you can\u2019t always expect chance after chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Dutchman insisted his footballing principles remain unchanged, even if circumstances demand adaptation.
\n\u201cMy philosophy hasn\u2019t changed,\u201d the 47-year-old added. \u201cBut we have to work with the players that are available.\u201d
\nThat availability also extends to fitness management, with Wirtz carefully monitored following recent scans \u2014 a topic Slot addressed alongside Hugo Ekitike\u2019s workload after the game.<\/p>\n
Curtis Jones echoed the dressing-room frustration, admitting it was \u201chard to take\u201d dropping points so late after showing greater desire in the second half.<\/p>\n
While Fulham supporters may remain unconvinced by the BBC\u2019s explanation, Liverpool\u2019s focus now shifts to a more pressing issue: converting spells of control into consistent results as sterner challenges loom ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Liverpool\u2019s latest Premier League draw has been analysed from every possible angle, yet one incident continues to spark debate long after the final whistle. Florian Wirtz\u2019s equaliser at Craven Cottage looked extremely tight in real time, prompted a prolonged VAR review, and was ultimately allowed to stand \u2014 despite claims that the German had drifted …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":57311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1025.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57325"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57326,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57325\/revisions\/57326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}