VAR ruled out first goal in history of EPL as Man City hammered West Ham 5-0 - Report Minds VAR ruled out first goal in history of EPL as Man City hammered West Ham 5-0 | Report Minds

VAR ruled out first goal in history of EPL as Man City hammered West Ham 5-0

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Manchester City fans were left incensed after the first ever Premier League goal to be ruled out by VAR occurred during their season opener against West Ham, in a game which did not reflect too well for the new technology.

It was only the second Premier League game in which the new system came into play, having been used but not required during Liverpool's opening 4-1 victory against Norwich.

Here at the London Stadium however VAR took centre stage, playing a role in several key moments and gaining both fans and critics in equal measure.

Raheem Sterling's shoulder was deemed to be marginally offside, causing controversy
Manchester City fans though Gabriel Jesus' goal was valid, only to see the dreaded message
Viewers at home were able to see the area of contention for the assistant referees
Dominating the game and cruising along nicely at 2-0, City thought they had a third on the scoreboard after Raheem Sterling slotted in Gabriel Jesus in what was a sublime piece of rapid football.

The travelling away fans were soaking in the scenes of jubilation, only to look up and see the dreaded 'VAR in review' signs beamed across the screens inside the London Stadium.

On-field official Mike Dean then explained to Sterling his shoulder was just over the line
City players immediately came up to Dean to appeal the call and ask how it had been found
After moments of checking, the assistant referees decided Sterling - or more specifically Sterling's left shoulder - was fractionally offside as captain David Silva slid a dissecting pass into his path.

It was only when the replays of the verdict were shown that fans became truly furious however, after the technology had picked up the most minute of movements to make the decision.

Indeed, even in slow motion fans and pundits had trouble in making out whether Sterling was truly offside, such was the closeness of the call.

The Video Assistant Referee technology has certainly arrived with a bang, and moments later City fans were hit by an immediate case of deju vu.

This time Sterling put the ball in the back of the net for himself, and the screen immediately flagged up the already familiar message of a VAR check.

This time, however, the England international was deemed to be online and the goal was good to stand - giving City a 3-0 lead heading into the final 10minutes of the contest.

VAR's starring performance did not end there, however, after Riyad Mahrez won a penalty for City in the dying moments.

The call was blatant enough not to need the second opinion of the technology, but after Declan Rice encroached into the area an immediate call for a re-take was made.

A late penalty call after Riyad Mahrez was felled did not require the intervention of VAR
But the technology was immediately needed to decide whether the penalty should be retaken
Sergio Aguero was granted a reprieve to retake the penalty after missing his first attempt
Declan Rice was deemed to have encroached into the area as Aguero stepped up to take
What was worse for the Hammers... Sergio Aguero had actually missed the attempt with a tame effort. Angry and confused, the West Ham players got back in line outside the box for Aguero to take again, this time rattling the back of the net.

Prior to the all the controversy spilling over, City were already well in control of the match with Jesus having opened the scoring earlier in the tie.


A rapid advance by Kyle Walker saw the ball squared from the left byline, allowing the Brazilian striker to instinctively guide the ball into the roof of the net.

Sterling had also already played his part, doubling City's lead early in the second half to get himself off the mark for the campaign.

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