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• Jurgen Klopp questions pressure on VAR officials after error denies Reds goal

  Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp questioned the pressure being put on officials after the Professional Game Match Officials Limited vowed to investigate the decision to rule out a Luis Diaz goal in the Reds’ dramatic 2-1 loss at Tottenham.

  Diaz looked to have put Liverpool ahead in the 34th minute when he raced on to Mohamed Salah’s through ball and rifled into the bottom corner of the net, but the offside flag was immediately raised.

  A VAR check by Darren England in Stockley Park occurred, with screens inside the stadium informing supporters, but play was able to quickly resume with the effort remaining offside.

  Referees’ body PGMOL has since acknowledged a “significant human error” occurred and that VAR “failed to intervene” to prevent the error.

  Liverpool went on to finish the match with nine men and suffered stoppage-time heartbreak when Joel Matip deflected Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but the post-match discussions focused on the crucial first-half error.

  “Who does that help now? We had that situation in the Wolves-Man United game. Did Wolves get the points? No,” Klopp reflected when informed of the PGMOL statement.

  “We will not get points for it so it doesn’t help. Nobody expects 100 per cent right decisions on field but we all thought when VAR comes in that it might make things easier.

  “I don’t know why the people…are they that much under pressure? Today the decision was made really quick I would say for that goal. It changed the momentum of the game, so that’s how it is.”

  After a breathless start at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Liverpool were reduced to 10 men in the 26th minute when Curtis Jones was sent off following a VAR review.

  Jones caught Yves Bissouma with a high, studs-up tackle on his shin that initially earned him a yellow card but referee Simon Hooper upgraded the decision to a red card after he used the pitchside monitor to review the incident.

  Diaz found the net six minutes later, but after it was ruled out Tottenham went ahead when captain Son Heung-min tapped home from Richarlison’s centre in the 36th minute.

  Cody Gakpo levelled for Liverpool on the verge of half-time but Klopp’s problems mounted when Diogo Jota was dismissed midway through the second half following two fouls on Destiny Udogie in quick succession.

  It meant Liverpool had to play the final 21 minutes in north London with nine men and their stubborn resistance was finally broken when Porro’s dangerous cross was diverted past Alisson by Matip.

  Klopp added: “I told the boys after the game I am super proud and especially with 10 men they were really good. They did everything that is necessary and on top of that we were courageous.

  “I don’t think there is anything to say about the offside goal. I knew at half-time.

  “In the first moment I thought it was clear offside but then it is right to think they have a better view and at half-time we knew with normal pictures. Easy to see, no offside.

  “But I am pretty sure whoever did make that decision did not make it on purpose. It didn’t take extremely long to come to the conclusion, that is a bit strange, but someone else has to clarify that.”

  Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, was happy to accept the rub of the green with the Diaz ruled out effort but highlighted that VAR will never be “errorless” after he watched his team’s unbeaten record stretch to seven matches in the Premier League.

  He said: “I think I’m on record as saying that I’ve never really been a fan of it since it came in. Not for any other reason than I think that it complicates areas of the game that I thought were pretty clear in the past.

  “We used to understand that errors were part of the game, including officiating errors. You’d have to cop it and some people would cop it better than others but that was part of the game.

  “The game is littered with historical refereeing decisions that weren’t right but we all accepted it that it was part of the game because we’re dealing with human beings.

  “I think that people are under the misconception that VAR is going to be errorless.

  “So much of our game isn’t factual. It’s down to interpretation and they’re still human beings. They’re going to make mistakes the same way managers make mistakes, the same way players make mistakes.

  “When you put such a high bar on something it invariably is going to fail, so if people are thinking that VAR is going to be something that at some point that is perfect, that’s never going to happen.”

• VAR makes a mistake as ‘significant human error’ denies Liverpool opening goal

  The Professional Game Match Officials Limited has acknowledged a “significant human error” occurred during Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Liverpool after a Luis Diaz effort in the 34th-minute was incorrectly ruled out for offside.

  Spurs claimed a dramatic three points after Joel Matip turned Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net in the sixth minute of stoppage time to continue the hosts’ flying start under new boss Ange Postecoglou.

  Referee Simon Hooper sent off Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota either side of half-time, but Liverpool were left aggrieved by the first-half decision to rule out a Diaz 34th-minute effort.

  Mohamed Salah played Diaz through and the Colombian rifled into the bottom corner, but the offside flag was raised and a quick VAR check by Darren England at Stockley Park deemed the Liverpool attacker was offside.

  Still images of the incident appeared to show Cristian Romero play Diaz onside and Spurs took the lead two minutes later when Son Heung-min poked home.

  Cody Gakpo did level before half-time, but Matip’s last-gasp own-goal inflicted a first Premier League defeat of the season on Jurgen Klopp’s men.

  “PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool,” a PGMOL statement read.

  “The goal by Luis Diaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials.

  “This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene.

  “PGMOL will conduct a full review into the circumstances which led to the error.”

• Jude Bellingham helps Real Madrid end Girona’s unbeaten start

  Jude Bellingham continued his fairytale start to life at Real Madrid with another starring performance in a 3-0 victory over previously undefeated Girona.

  Bellingham set Real on their way with a superb assist for Joselu’s first-half opener and, after Aurelien Tchouameni had made it 2-0, the England midfielder wrapped things up with his seventh goal for the Spanish giants.

  Real Madrid’s victory, their seventh in eight LaLiga games, saw them return to the top of the table with Girona dropping from second to third.

  The final scoreline was harsh on a Girona side who had recorded six successive wins since their opening-weekend draw at Real Sociedad, but the Catalan underdogs paid the price for not taking their chances.

  Madrid have developed an unwelcome habit of conceding early goals this season and Girona could easily have been 2-0 up inside the opening five minutes.

  Yangel Herrera should have done better with a header which cleared the crossbar before Viktor Tsygankov struck the outside of the post with a far-post header that left flew across the outstretched hand of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

  Real were riding their luck but took the lead in the 18th minute following a moment of magic from Bellingham.

  The summer signing from Borussia Dortmund curled in an inch-perfect cross with the outside of his right foot which picked out Joselu’s run at the far post and the Spain striker’s finish was too powerful for Paulo Gazzaniga to keep out.

  The buoyant visitors were celebrating a second goal barely three minutes later when Tchouameni escaped his marker at a corner to power home a header.

  Girona were suddenly looking shaky at the back and Bellingham almost made it 3-0 in the 28th minute after racing onto Vinicius Jr’s pass, with Gazzaniga denying the 20-year-old.

  Gazzaniga also produced a fine save to tip over Toni Kroos’ effort on the stroke of half-time as Madrid looked to finish their opponents off before the break.

  However, Girona managed to keep the deficit at two goals going into the interval and, like in the first half, they came out all guns blazing at the start of the second and should have pulled a goal back.

  The unmarked David Lopez saw his powerful header from a free-kick parried away by Kepa before Herrera headed another good opportunity down into the ground and over the bar.

  That was as close as Girona would come to getting back into the game, though, and Real wrapped up the points with Bellingham again centre stage.

  The £88.5million man was denied at close range by Gazzaniga just after the hour but there was no stopping the red-hot midfielder in the 71st minute as he made it 3-0 with a clinical finish.

  Joselu saw his shot parried back to him by Gazzaniga and, after the ball looped up into the air off the forward, Bellingham pounced to fire a volley into the ground and past the helpless Girona keeper.

  The hosts would have breathed a sigh of relief at seeing Bellingham substituted soon after, but the damage has been done, although Real’s win was soured following a late red card for Nacho Fernandez.

  The visitors’ captain was initially shown a yellow card for his flying studs-up challenge on Cristian Portu, but that was quickly changed to a red after the referee consulted the pitchside monitor, and a touchline melee involving both teams followed.