Liverpool were denied a draw with Crystal Palace after Eddie Nketiah scored a 97th minute winner to clinch a 2-1 win Selhurst Park but there was controversy surrounding Federico Chiesa’s late equaliser for Arne Slot’s side
Chris Richards has claimed that justice was served after taking a subtle swipe at VAR following Crystal Palace’s victory over Liverpool on Saturday. The Reds seemed to have salvaged a point after Federico Chiesa levelled the score in the 87th minute, only for Eddie Nketiah to net a 97th-minute winner, handing Arne Slot’s team their first Premier League defeat of the season.
The USA international was responsible for Chiesa’s equaliser, inadvertently passing the ball to the Italian with a poorly executed header from Ryan Gravenberch’s cross.
However, the goal sparked controversy as VAR reviewed whether Mohamed Salah had handled Gravenberch’s initial cross into the box before it reached Richards.
READ MORE: Arne Slot publicly calls out one Liverpool player for error which led to Crystal Palace winner
The officials ultimately concluded that there was no ‘conclusive evidence’ that the Egyptian had committed an offence.
The Premier League clarified the decision on social media, via its Match Centre X account, stating: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed there was no conclusive evidence that Salah handled the ball in the build-up.”
Despite this, Richards took issue with the goal on his own social media accounts, quote-retweeting a post featuring a still image of Salah’s alleged handball prior to the Liverpool equaliser.
“I knew I wasn’t seeing things,” he posted on X. “#Justice #thanksEddie”.
The defender also took to Instagram following the victory, posting a snap of Palace celebrating Nketiah’s decisive strike with the caption: “Saturdays at Selhurst with Eddie. Brilliant performance from the boys”.
Liverpool’s defeat saw their advantage at the Premier League summit cut to just three points after Palace’s triumph over the Reds propelled them into second place.
Arsenal have the chance to narrow the gap on Slot’s side when they make the trip to Newcastle United on Sunday, where three points would lift them into second spot and trim the deficit on the reigning Premier League champions to just two points.
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