Conor Coady lauds ‘unbelievable’ Virgil van Dijk but criticises VAR after Liverpool drama

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Liverpool secured yet another three points in a controversial game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.

Conor Coady has hailed the ‘unbelievable’ Virgil van Dijk after Liverpool recorded a controversial 1-0 win over Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday.

But the Wolves defender was left seething and had a problem with the decision to allow Liverpool’s goal, as he was adamant that Van Dijk handled the ball in the build-up to Mane’s goal.

Initially, referee Anthony Taylor ruled out Mane’s goal because he felt Adam Lallana handled the ball in the build-up, but that was overturned by VAR. However, Wolves weren’t pleased because they felt that Van Dijk, who had played the pass to Lallana, handled the ball.

Speaking to Sky Sports Premier League (29/12/19 06:45 pm), Coady admitted that Van Dijk’s pass into Wolves’ penalty area was ‘brilliant’, but the goal shouldn’t have stood.

“We thought Van Dijk had handled it in the lead up to the goal, that’s what we thought,” Coady told Sky Sports. “And then he [the referee] tells me that he’s too far away. I cannot get my head around it!

“Van Dijk plays the pass for the goal. He’s a fantastic player. Unbelievable player. And it’s a brilliant pass. But by the sounds of it, he has handballed it, so I don’t know where we are going wrong, but for me, it’s not good because that’s twice now on the spin against Liverpool and Manchester City [we have had decisions against us]. [And against] the two best teams on the planet.”

VAR is seemingly causing controversy near-on every game, as many, within the stands and ex-players, are calling for the technology to be scrapped or altered in a big way.

From the handball rule to the extremely marginal offside law, it’s causing debate throughout, with Liverpool’s game against Wolves not the only one involved in controversy over the weekend.

Sheffield United’s game against Manchester City and Norwich’s draw at home to Tottenham was also showered in decisions that supporters and managers were incensed with.