VAR punishes Liverpool for lethargic and lacklustre display against West Brom

On Sunday afternoon, VAR punished Liverpool for a lethargic and lacklustre Anfield display against West Brom as the Reds dropped two points and missed the chance to go five points clear at the top of the table.

The Reds could've won the game in the dying minutes but an 89th minute save from Sam Johnstone rescued West Brom and prevented the home side from stretching their Premier League lead to five points.

At one stage in the first half, Jurgen Klopp's side had 82% possession but they failed to make the most of their dominance and went into half-time with just one shot on target and until Firmino's header was saved in the final minute of regulation time, they failed to register another shot on target.

While Liverpool deserved to drop points, fans are aggrieved by the manner in which the equaliser arrived. Curtis Jones sloppily forced Rhys Williams into conceding a corner from which Semi Ajayi scored via touches from each post.

West Brom deserved the goal but VAR should have chalked the goal off for a foul on Fabinho, with Ajayi putting his hands on the Brazilian's face as he looked for the necessary purchase to rise higher in the box to meet the outswinging cross.

After I penned an angry article last week about the state of VAR in the Premier League, I didn't expect to see the new technology expose its flaws again so soon but once again the Reds have been blighted by the inept referees that man the tech.

The result is even more disappointing because Joel Matip was forced off the pitch with an abductor issue and is likely out for another couple weeks at least.