Dominic Calvert-Lewin says Everton proved they can compete with any team even if he was not sure if his late goal in the dramatic 3-3 draw at Manchester United would be allowed to stand.
The Red Devils saw goals from Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes cancelled out by Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez at Old Trafford only for Scott McTominay's 70th-minute effort to put the home side back in front.
With the clock winding down, it looked as though United were about to move level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
But Calvert-Lewin notched after latching on to a 95th-minute free-kick, with the England striker not sure if the VAR would rule his effort out.
"There isn't [a better time to score]. Even still I ran off celebrating and didn't know if I could fully get into the celebration because of VAR," he said.
"It was close. I knew I didn't handle it but I didn't know if it was offside.
"I didn't even see he [goalkeeper Robin Olsen] was up. It was just about getting in the right position. I knew I wouldn’t get first contact, it was about trying to get second contact."
Calvert-Lewin was disappointed Everton had surrendered the lead having fought back from 2-0 down but is convinced Carlo Ancelotti's men have the capability to mix it with the best in the division.
"It's frustrating when we get back level from 2-0 down and then let them get the lead again from a set-piece. We had to stay disciplined and then smell the goal at the end and put it in," he added to Sky Sports.
"We had a change of system a few minutes into the second half. It allowed us to commit more bodies forward. We let them have too much of the ball. It was about picking the tempo up and getting after people.
"We are capable of so much more. Every team we play we can compete and beat them. The spirit we showed to get back in the game is what we are about."
The result leaves Everton in sixth but only three points adrift of fourth-place Liverpool, who have played a game more.
Ancelotti – who explained James was withdrawn after 70 minutes as an injury precaution – was proud of the character his team showed after feeling they were a little reserved in the opening period.
"I think we started well and were a little bit shy in the first half. After that the game was in control. We would not have deserved to lose. We had opportunities in counter-attacks in the first half but were not clinical," the Italian said.
"Manchester United are really strong in midfield. The idea was to put one more player in there.
"Rodriguez had a tight calf - he could play but not all the game. He scored a fantastic goal and I took him off to avoid problems.
"I am really proud. The spirit is really good. We have a good run in this moment. We have to keep this spirit high. We showed that at 3-2 we did not want to lose."
Tottenham poised to announce Ange Postecoglou as their new manager
Tottenham are expected to announce Ange Postecoglou as their new manager after reports on Monday claimed the Celtic boss has agreed a two-year deal.
The 57-year-old Australian’s pending appointment will end Spurs’ long search for a permanent replacement for Antonio Conte, who they sacked in March.
Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason had respective spells in temporary charge as the London club failed to qualify for European football next season for the first time since 2009-10.
Postecoglou told Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond on Saturday night of his decision to leave the Glasgow club and has now agreed a deal in principle with Spurs, with the option to extend.
Former Australia head coach Postecoglou admitted on Saturday, after Celtic’s Scottish FA Cup final win over Inverness had secured them the domestic treble, that his celebrations would soon be disrupted.
Neither club have commented but reports claim an announcement will be made when the finer details of the contract have been finalised.
When repeatedly pressed on his future after Celtic’s 3-1 Hampden win over Inverness on Saturday, Postecoglou said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.
“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.”
Postecoglou has won five domestic trophies out of a possible six after arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in 2021 and was linked with numerous Premier League clubs throughout this season.
He became a hero with the Celtic support, not just for resuming their success after a barren season, but also for implementing an attacking style of play and his connection with the fans.
Postecoglou, due to go on a family holiday on Tuesday, will now swap Glasgow for another rebuild job at Spurs.
Former Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has emerged as an unlikely favourite to succeed Postecoglou at Celtic, four years after leaving the club mid-season to take over at Leicester.
Assistant manager John Kennedy is also high up the list but reports claim Postecoglou hopes to take the former Celtic defender to Tottenham.
Virtual reality could help improve heading skills amid new restrictions – study
Virtual reality could help footballers improve their heading without the repetitive head impacts from a ball, a new study indicates.
Players involved in a study at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Institute of Sport and its Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences demonstrated greater performance in ‘real world’ heading after training with a VR headset compared to a control group who did no training.
The VR group also reported greater self-confidence and efficacy in their heading compared to the control group, the study found.
The study, titled: ‘A preliminary investigation into the efficacy of training soccer heading in immersive virtual reality’, has been published in the journal Virtual Reality on Tuesday.
It provides some insights into how players may be able to improve heading technique amid restrictions on training.
Football Association guidelines advise against any heading training in under-12s, while a trial is ongoing in the current season and next season to eliminate deliberate heading completely from matches up to and including that age group.
At ages 12 and 13, heading should be limited to a single session of no more than five headers, and no more than 10 headers per session for children aged 14 to 17, according to FA guidance.
Even in adult football at all levels, players are advised to perform only 10 ‘higher force headers’ per training week, such as headers from crosses, corners, free-kicks and returning of goal kicks.
The exposure to heading has been limited because of concerns over the sub-concussive impact of repetitive heading on a player’s longer-term wellbeing.
The 2019 FIELD Study found professional footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the general population.
“With increasing restrictions of heading exposure to professional and youth soccer, it is evident that alternative methods for training heading confidence and technique will be required while it remains an integral part of the game,” the VR paper concluded.
“The work presented here provides some initial evidence suggesting that immersive VR may have a place in any new approach to training this important skill.”
A group of 36 adult recreational-level players, made up of 30 men and six women, participated in the study in total.
The 36 were split into two groups of 18, with 16 men and two women in the control group who did not use the VR headsets between ‘real world’ heading sessions, and 14 men and four women in the VR group.
The VR group used the Oculus Quest 2 head-mounted display, with the Rezzil Player 22 application used to provide the VR football heading training.
Dr Ben Marshall, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport, said: “Our findings show that virtual reality (VR) based training can be used to improve real-world heading performance and that this method is more effective than not training the skill at all.
“This is important as current training guidelines recommend limiting the number of physical headers performed in training for all age groups due to the associated long-term risks to player health.
“Our findings suggest the inclusion of VR-based training could play an important role in developing football heading skills whilst reducing the number of real-world headers and sub-concussive head impacts that players need to be exposed to – which is really positive.”
VAR wrong to intervene with Grealish handball, says Halsey
VAR was wrong to intervene in the incident which caused Jack Grealish to be penalised for handball in the FA Cup final.
That is the view of former Premier League referee Mark Halsey, who feels the Manchester City and England star had been hard done by after conceding a penalty in the first half.
There was relief for Grealish and City at Wembley on Saturday, as they went on to win the final 2-1 despite Bruno Fernandes' equaliser from the penalty spot.
That 33rd-minute spot-kick came after a VAR intervention. Aaron Wan-Bissaka headed the ball into Grealish's arm from close range as the pair battled to reach a cross-field pass from Fernandes.
The match referee Paul Tierney initially waved away strong United appeals, but VAR called him to the monitor at the next break in play.
Halsey told Stats Perform: "The problem we have at present; we have got too many inconsistencies about when to get involved or when not to get involved.
"VAR is here to stay and I think it's a great tool because we have seen many goals given where the system has then put the flag up and we have seen goals ruled out when the flag hasn't gone up and the player has been just offside, so that is factual.
"But I'm seeing many subjective decisions being recommended for review – some being recommended, some not being recommended.
"Then we have some handballs given, some handballs not given, and some holding offences in the penalty area recommend for review, some not.
"Since Howard Webb has come in I think the consistency has improved, but there is still some inconsistency there, so there's a lot of work still to be done with VAR.
"It's simple – VAR should only get involved if it's a clear and obvious error, an absolute howler. That is when VAR has to get involved."
Asked specifically about the Grealish decision, Halsey added: "If you look at the game, that incident, that passage of play, was that a deliberate act? No.
"A player that deliberately moves his hand or arm towards the ball or if they are making themselves unnaturally bigger, then they run the risk of a handball being given against him.
"But were his arms in an unnatural or natural position for that passage of play? I've played the game at very, very high levels as a semi-professional – for me his arms for that passage of play were in a natural position.
"So I think we have a problem of understanding what is natural and what is unnatural. I don't think anybody knows anymore, do they?
"Paul Tierney is there [near the incident], he has seen it and he's not given it. On that situation, it is subjective.
"So is that clear enough and obvious error by Paul Tierney for VAR to get involved? For me, no, because Paul Tierney is in a great position. He has possibly seen it and he thinks, 'Well hang on I don't think that's deliberate, I think arms are in a natural position'.
"We don't know that because we don't hear the conversation, I'm just assuming. So VAR then gets involved and I question should David Coote have got involved.
"Was it correct in law? Perhaps if he's [Coote] is refereeing his opinion is [Grealish] has made himself bigger, and his arms are in the air, and it is an unnatural position.
"But Paul Tierney the on field referee doesn't give that. So was that clear enough and obvious enough for VAR to get involved? For me, no.
"The law is an ass – we need players involved as well because it's no criticism of the referee. It's the law that needs looking at. It is the same with offside, no one knows what is or what isn't and it's the same with handball.
"There is so much subjectivity involved in handball – we have seen some awful decisions regarding handball. So it's all over the place and difficult for referees because the way the law is worded and obviously they are unsure what is natural and what is unnatural with your arms."
For Halsey, the solution to the dilemma over the handball law is clear.
He said: "Back to how it used to be, that it has to be a deliberate act. Deliberate with your arm moving towards the ball.
"None of this unnatural or natural? Was his arm up in the air? Did you make yourself bigger? It's simple – ask was that a deliberate act of handling the ball?"
Victory for Premier League winners City gave them a seventh FA Cup triumph, with Saturday's Champions League final against Inter giving Pep Guardiola's men a chance to win the treble, a feat which would match rivals United's accomplishment in 1999.
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