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1st February 2024
11:31am GMT
Rio Ferdinand criticised VAR for failing to award Chelsea two penalties that could've changed the entire complexity of the game.
Chelsea were thrashed 4-1 by Liverpool at Anfield however it could've been a different story early on.
The first of the two incidents saw Virgil van Dijk body Connor Gallagher off the ball inside the box however referee Paul Tierney waved away any protests while VAR also said there were no fans.
Van Dijk was also involved in the second penalty shout as he appeared to clip Christopher Nkunku inside the box. That was also reviewed by VAR but once again, came to nothing.
Ally McCoist was working on the commentary for TNT Sports and couldn't believe that the second decision hadn't resulted in a penalty.
"Has van Dijk kicked through him? Oh he does you know!
"I'll tell you right now he does, that's a penalty. I think that is a penalty - he catches him with his right leg. You see the contact from Van Dijk there, oh it's a penalty all day. He catches his right leg, no doubt about it."
Ferdinand was just as shocked and after the game said: "I can’t believe VAR hasn’t seen that and not give the penalties. VAR is meant to help in these situations.
"How they have looked at the those two incidents and not thought they were penalties [for Chelsea].
"I still think Chelsea were well off it today but those penalties could have changed the nature of the game."
Mauricio Pochettino admitted that he was disappointed but admitted that his team didn't deserve to win.
"Of course we were seeing it on the iPad and we were thinking it could be a penalty. It was bad luck for us but that does not change the feeling that Liverpool were better than us," he said.
It's been a rocky start to life at Chelsea for the forward so far this season but it was clear to see how much Pochettino has missed a player like him in his ranks.
Since joining from RB Leipzig in the summer the Frenchman has struggled with injuries but came off the bench at Anfield to score his first goal for the club, as well as cause plenty of problems up top.
For all of Chelsea's fragilities at the back (there's a lot), Nkunku may well help to ease the pressure on Cole Palmer - who has been excellent this season.
Should last season's Bundesliga's top scorer remain fit for the rest of the season, he could well help to spare Chelsea's blushes and even finish in the top half.
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