Eamon Dunphy column: Bad call at Molineux could have a major impact on top and bottom in PL
Think of the potential consequences of that call. Wolves were denied a point that might keep them up at the end of the season, Manchester City got two extra points that might win them the title. It's simply not good enough that these massive mistakes
There is no league in the world as obsessed with referees as the Premier League. Week after week, decisions in games are gone over again and again, and the man in the middle often gets hammered.
Ex-referees are now a thing too, popping up everywhere from live games to podcasts to give their view.
Mike Dean was on call for Sky in Liverpool's win over Chelsea. Just before half-time, Curtis Jones was taken down by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
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A penalty was awarded and Dean announced that it was the correct decision. The VAR officials then told the referee to check and he overturned the call. Dean announced that he was right to do so.
Now I've taken a bit of flak for a few u-turns in my time but this...
Many football fans are sick of the obsession with refereeing decisions but two this weekend cannot be ignored.
William Saliba should never have been sent off against Bournemouth. It wasn't a clear goalscoring opportunity. If Evanilson had gone on to score, it would have been a hell of a goal.
Think of the potential price of that red card - one I feel was wrongly shown. Saliba will miss one of Arsenal's biggest games of the season - next Sunday at home to Liverpool.
But what happened at Molineux was even worse. There's no way that John Stones's late winner for Manchester City should have stood. Bernardo Silva made contact with the goalkeeper, Jose Sa, as he readied himself to face the ball coming in. It was blatant interference.
Think of the potential consequences of that call. Wolves were denied a point that might keep them up at the end of the season, City got two extra points that might win them the title. It's simply not good enough that these massive mistakes are made.
As for the game at Anfield, it was a really intriguing game, and one between two strong teams.
This was the biggest test for Arne Slot as Liverpool manager so far and he passed with flying colours.
In the first couple of months of the season, the fixture list was kind to the Reds.
Bar the win at Old Trafford, the rest of their victories came against teams you'd always expect Liverpool to beat.
And they actually lost at Anfield to Nottingham Forest, a team with a terrible record there.
But, when you start with a run of easy games, it's inevitable that a tough run must be coming fast down the tracks.
That is what Liverpool are facing into over the next while. Just take the next week as an example. After Chelsea, there's a Champions League trip to play Red Bull Leipzig - who are level on points with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
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Then, next Sunday, there's a trip to play Arsenal at the Emirates. True, the Gunners will be without the suspended William Saliba, but Mikel Arteta has built a strong team who are very hard to break down.
We will know a lot more about Liverpool after these two games. This win, though, told us that it would be no surprise if Slot's men are in the hunt for major honours at the business end of the season.
I do feel they might be a bit light in midfield, though, especially if they pick up a couple of injuries.
Slot has been clever in the way he's managed the minutes of his players.
Alexis Mac Allister picked up a knock in the last game before the international break, missed Argentina's first game and played 66 minutes of their second.
He also clocked over 20,000 air miles - through several different time zones. On the flight back home to Liverpool, he picked up a bug too.
He was still passed fit to play, but Slot decided to hold him back, as he knows the schedule is so tough he can't afford to lose him.
Curtis Jones got the nod and he ended up putting in an outstanding performance.
Luis Diaz has been sparkling form this season but he was held back too - he'd travelled over 16,000 miles on international duty.
These are things that are easy to forget or to dismiss, but footballers are human. The travel and the different kind of pressures of international football can take its toll.
The Liverpool/Chelsea rivalry is an enduring one, and one that only really started in the modern era.
During Jose Mourinho's first incarnation as Chelsea manager, the bitterest rivalry of all was with the Reds.
That was nothing to do with the Premier League. At domestic level, the Reds never got close to Mourinho's outfit.
But the defeats in the Champions League semi-finals of 2005 and 2007 to Liverpool stung Mourinho to the core.
Mourinho still monans about something that happened nearly two decades ago.
It would have been Brendan Rodgers, rather than Jurgen Klopp, who ended Liverpool's title drought but for Chelsea.
Their win at Anfield 10 years ago denied the Antrim man, and ensured that the prize went to Manchester City.
A talented young Egyptian called Mohamed Salah played for Chelsea that day but made little impression...
Klopp had his battles with Chelsea too, enjoying wins in FA and League Cup finals over them, even if it needed penalty shoot-outs to get past their London rivals.
Generally, in recent years, games between these two have been very tight with few goals.
This game, too, could have gone either way but Liverpool just about deserved the win. I think both teams are in transition, both are improving, but Liverpool are further down the road.
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