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‘Where was VAR?’ – ex-referee slams controversial Aston Villa decision as Liverpool drop title race points
Harry Mail
3 – 4 minutes
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Aston Villa picked up a point in their latest Premier League outing
Aston Villa drew 2-2 at home to Liverpool on Wednesday night with Youri Tielemens and Ollie Watkins getting their goals. Unai Emery’s side are currently sat in 9th place in the Premier League and are aiming to make the top four again like last season.
The Midlands outfit have had to balance Champions League action with domestic football this term which has proved tricky. They are back in action this weekend with a home clash against Chelsea.
Aston Villa delved into the January transfer window to bring in the likes of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford to boost their squad. They also sold Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr.
Aston Villa referee decision questioned
Former referee Keith Hackett believes Axel Disasi should have been sent off for Aston Villa against Liverpool. The centre-back appeared to strike Alexis MacAllister but escaped a red card.
Hackett has criticised Craig Pawson for his decision and has said, as per a report by Football Insider: “I really don’t get it. If you strike, or attempt to strike an opponent, as Disasi did against Mac Allister, then that is a red card offence.
“There was clearly force, MacAllister went to ground pretty quickly, so where was VAR? Because Craig Pawson, I’m sorry, you got that decision wrong. You were too lenient, that player should have walked.”
Disasi, 26, linked up with Aston Villa in January to boost their defensive ranks. He was given the green light to leave Chelsea on loan to get some experience under his belt.
The France international, who has five caps under his belt, has played twice since his switch to Emery’s side. He has been on the books at Stamford Bridge since joining the Blues from AS Monaco in 2023 and has made 61 appearances altogether, finding the net on five occasions.
What now for Aston Villa?
Aston Villa put in a solid performance against Liverpool and will hope to build on their performance with similar against Chelsea in their next outing. Speaking after their draw with the Reds, Emery said: “I’m happy with the match we played and how we performed. We’re in a new era, a new way. We’re not happy drawing at home, of course, we did against Ipswich Town on Saturday and again we repeated with a draw.
“I think the result was fair, because I think both teams were creating chances and sometimes dominating one team and then another team. More or less, over 90 minutes, I think the result is fair.
“But, of course, we wanted to win and the most important thing was we showed until the last minute how we were pushing, how we were attacking, trying to get a third goal. And we tried until the last moment, but the result is not enough. We can be happy with how we played, how we performed.
“Some players as well, how they’re progressively getting better with us. And recovering some injured players as well. We keep going, our focus now is Saturday against Chelsea. At home, we’ve only lost one match against Arsenal in the Premier League. But we’re drawing a lot of matches and we have to try and get three points.”
