Premier League
VAR HAS CHANGED KLOPP’S TOUCHLINE BEHAVIOUR
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he now waits to celebrate goals on the touchline because of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), after Sadio Mane’s effort was ruled out for offside in Saturday’s 2-0 English Premiership League win over Watford.
Mane thought he had put Liverpool ahead 2-0 with a glancing header after Mohamed Salah had scored the opener, but the goal was ruled out as the VAR deemed that the Senegal international forward was marginally offside.
“I don’t celebrate goals any more because you have to wait until somebody says it is a goal,” Klopp told reporters.
“As you can imagine, when you’re winning 2-0, I’m not too concerned about it. I had no clue where it was offside.
“I thought there was one pass before where maybe it was offside, but that Sadio was offside I couldn’t see.”
The use of VAR, where match officials use video replays to check decisions by the referee on the pitch and flag possible mistakes, has been surrounded by controversy in recent months.
Critics say the system goes far beyond its original remit and that decisions are taking too long while Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said last week that the technology had changed the character of football.
Liverpool’s victory, thanks to two superb goals by Salah that gave him four from the last three games and 13 for the season, left the league leaders 10 points ahead of their nearest challengers Leicester, who were held 1-1 at home by Norwich City.
Meanwhile, Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, who sustained a muscle problem on Saturday, was named in Liverpool’s 20-man squad for the Club World Cup in Qatar.
The European champions take on Mexican side Monterrey in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
But defender Dejan Lovren was not included after he picked up a similar injury at Salzburg in the Champions League last week.
A statement on Liverpool’s official website confirmed the Croat’s omission and Wijnaldum’s inclusion.
Resources are already stretched thinly with a youth team set to play a League Cup quarter-final at Aston Villa on Tuesday, and Fabinho (ankle injury) and Joel Matip (knee) ruled out of games in the Middle East.
“With the Gini injury, Dejan three or four days ago, our squad is not getting bigger. That is not cool,”
Klopp said: “But that is the same problem if we go to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.”
Speaking before the squad was named, he added on Wijnaldum’s injury: “It is a muscle thing and you never want that for a player. In these moments it immediately makes it more difficult.”
-AFP/Reuters
Premier League
Maguire handed suspended prison sentence for 2020 brawl

England and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence by a Greek court over a 2020 incident in Mykonos, Sky Sports reported on Wednesday.
In 2020, Maguire was found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery and violence against public employees after his arrest in a brawl in which two police officers were assaulted.
Maguire, who was detained for two days following the incident and denied any wrongdoing, was handed a suspended prison sentence of 21 months and 10 days but was granted a full retrial after appealing against Greek court convictions on multiple charges.
In accordance with the Greek judicial process, the filing nullified Maguire’s conviction before a full retrial in a more senior court. His retrial was postponed many times.
Maguire faced allegations of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery. The 32-year-old was convicted on all three counts but will face no prison time. His legal team will appeal against the guilty verdict, Sky Sports reported.
Maguire’s brother Joe and friend Christopher Sharman were also found guilty of offences related to the incident and received suspended prison sentences in 2020. They also denied any wrongdoing.
-Reuters
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Premier League
Timber header earns Arsenal crucial win over Chelsea

Arsenal maintained control of the Premier League title race as they chiselled out a nervy 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table on Sunday.
Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute header from a Declan Rice corner ensured Arsenal took three precious points, but it was a nervy afternoon in north London.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved to 64 points from 29 games, with Manchester City, who have played a game fewer, on 59.

Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber celebrates scoring their second goal with Gabriel Magalhaes REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Defender William Saliba had given Arsenal the lead in the 21st minute from a trademark corner routine.
But it had looked as though an own goal by Piero Hincapie just before halftime would prove costly for the hosts until Timber came to their rescue.
Chelsea, whose six-match unbeaten league sequence under new manager Liam Rosenior was halted, ended the match with 10 men after Pedro Neto was sent off for a second yellow card.
-Reuters
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Premier League
Manchester United climb to third in Premier League table with come-from-behind win over Palace

Manchester United produced a stirring second-half comeback to defeat Crystal Palace 2–1 at Old Trafford on Sunday, with captain Bruno Fernandes inspiring the turnaround that lifted the hosts into third place in the Premier League standings.
Trailing inside four minutes after a dominant start by Palace, United responded through a Fernandes penalty before his pinpoint free-kick was headed home by Benjamin Sesko to seal victory against the 10-man visitors.
The win extended interim manager Michael Carrick’s unbeaten run to seven matches since taking charge in mid-January. United now have 51 points from 28 games and are unbeaten since the January 5 dismissal of Ruben Amorim, climbing into third for the first time since May 2023. Palace remain 14th on 35 points.
“It feels like a big result, we were behind and had to show some character,” Fernandes told Sky Sports. “There are a lot of games to go still, and it is important that we don’t feel that we are in the position that we need to be. We need to make as many points as we can.”
Palace, under Oliver Glasner, were electric in the opening half hour, capitalising on sluggish United play. Defender Maxence Lacroix powered home a header from a corner after muscling past Leny Yoro, scoring the earliest goal United have conceded this season.
The visitors nearly doubled their advantage when Daniel Munoz latched onto an Ismaila Sarr through ball, but goalkeeper Senne Lammens produced a crucial save.
United gradually found their rhythm before the break. Sesko forced Dean Henderson into action with a header from a Fernandes cross, and the Palace keeper also tipped a Fernandes free kick over the bar.
The turning point arrived in the 57th minute when Fernandes converted from the penalty spot after Matheus Cunha was dragged down by Lacroix. Following a lengthy VAR review, Lacroix was shown a red card, reducing Palace to 10 men.
Eight minutes later, Fernandes’ delivery again proved decisive as Sesko rose highest to nod home the winning goal.
United pushed for a third, with Casemiro’s volley drawing a diving save from Henderson and substitute Amad Diallo testing the keeper from distance in stoppage time. Joshua Zirkzee saw efforts blocked, while Kobbie Mainoo’s fierce strike drifted narrowly wide.
Carrick praised his team’s resilience. “The biggest thing for us to take from the game is really the first time that we have been in that situation going in at halftime,” he said. “Being in that position and how we react and showing that personality and belief… to then come back as we did in the second half is the biggest thing for me today.”
Palace pressed late but could not find an equaliser. Glasner admitted his side had let the game slip. “It feels like there was more possible today. A great first 30 minutes, but the red card changed it completely. The second goal just happened too quickly.”
For United, the victory reinforces growing belief under Carrick that a top-four finish—and a return to Europe’s elite competition—is firmly within reach.
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