Liverpool\u2019s most recent Premier League draw has been analysed endlessly, yet one incident continues to overshadow everything that followed the final whistle.<\/p>\n
Florian Wirtz\u2019s equaliser at Craven Cottage looked extremely tight in real time, led to an extended VAR review, and was ultimately given \u2014 despite claims that the German may have been marginally offside.<\/p>\n
BBC Sport\u2019s football issues correspondent Dale Johnson has since clarified why the decision went in Liverpool\u2019s favour, even though the former Bayer Leverkusen midfielder had technically drifted beyond the defensive line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWirtz appeared offside \u2014 and he was, by the smallest of margins,\u201d Johnson explained in his BBC Sport column. \u201cSo how did the goal survive a VAR check?\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer lies in the Premier League\u2019s ongoing use of an offside tolerance, which remains in place even with semi-automated technology now being used.<\/p>\n
Why Wirtz\u2019s goal counted<\/p>\n
As outlined by the BBC, officials still allow a margin for error to compensate for limitations in the system, such as pinpointing the exact moment the ball is played.<\/p>\n
Because of that leeway, a player who appears fractionally offside on the frame can still be judged onside once the tolerance is applied. Johnson added that when similar guidelines were introduced during the 2021\/22 season, referees believed they could lead to roughly \u201c20 extra goals per campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timing of Wirtz\u2019s strike was significant, arriving during Liverpool\u2019s best spell of the match after Conor Bradley drove through Fulham\u2019s midfield. The 22-year-old finished calmly, and his impact was clear despite being on the pitch for just 76 minutes.<\/p>\n
His display also fits a growing pattern, with Wirtz now posting two goals and one assist across his last four starts.<\/p>\n
Slot keeps perspective<\/p>\n
Arne Slot was keen to look beyond the controversy after the match, choosing not to dwell on the VAR debate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love us to create more,\u201d the Liverpool head coach said, \u201cbut when you\u2019re up against a 5-4-1 away from home and playing with the midfield balance we had, it\u2019s difficult to expect constant chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 47-year-old stressed that his footballing philosophy remains unchanged, even if circumstances require adjustment.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy ideas haven\u2019t shifted,\u201d Slot added. \u201cWe just have to work with the players who are available.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fitness management was also a factor, with Wirtz\u2019s minutes carefully controlled following recent scans. Slot addressed that alongside Hugo Ekitike\u2019s workload after the game.<\/p>\n
Curtis Jones summed up the mood in the dressing room, admitting it was \u201ctough to take\u201d after Liverpool showed greater fight in the second half.<\/p>\n
While Fulham fans may remain unconvinced by the BBC\u2019s explanation, Liverpool\u2019s focus will be on converting dominance into consistency as more demanding fixtures loom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Liverpool\u2019s most recent Premier League draw has been analysed endlessly, yet one incident continues to overshadow everything that followed the final whistle. Florian Wirtz\u2019s equaliser at Craven Cottage looked extremely tight in real time, led to an extended VAR review, and was ultimately given \u2014 despite claims that the German may have been marginally offside. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":57335,"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-57334","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_1030.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57334","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=57334"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57336,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57334\/revisions\/57336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}