I'm not sure Chelsea are lacking in top end talent. You might be right, but I'd say that their attacking talent is young and unproved.

then Aguero was allowed to retake a terribly taken penalty because it was judged the goalie came off his line early (he did, of course, like they always do, but I don't think we should start caring about this now all of a sudden).

I don't think that's what they called. I think they called it back because the defender who came in and cleared the ball after the missed shot took a couple steps into the box before the kick was taken.

Was I the only one that didn't know Wolves and Torino would be matched up in the Europa playoff round? One of them won't make the group stage. Is it just a random draw?

I don't think that's what they called. I think they called it back because the defender who came in and cleared the ball after the missed shot took a couple steps into the box before the kick was taken.

So the tv guys were just dummies I guess.

One of the biggest issues with VAR is that it’s not always clear what is being reviewed. They talked about it on the Football Weekly podcast. She was at a game and they showed a note on the video screen that said “VAR - Red Card” but no one knew what the incident was.

Baseball has a similar issue with replay but the nature of baseball makes it obvious 99% of the time what is being reviewed. Soccer isn’t so linear and it’s not always clear. There needs to be a way to keep fans in the loop.

Still without a club since being released by Swansea City, Wilfried Bony is keeping himself in shape by training with the League Two side Newport County.

Ajax needs a win or a 3-3 draw at home to advance,

With VAR shouldn’t defenders no longer be putting their arms up to plead for an offside call? It’s always been a bit stupid, you are slowing yourself down doing it, but now even if it’s missed real time it’s going to get picked up on review so just keep playing.

I do think penalties would be far more entertaining if they did the "You have 5 seconds to score starting from the 35/40 yard line" thing.

Here's the thing. Penalty shootouts are going nowhere. Because literally nobody outside of the US thinks it's a problem. So much so, that they are supposedly even discussing introducing penalty shootouts to the 2022 WC, in order to decide group games that end in a draw.

You can whine, and moan about it all you want, and try to come up with whatever fantastical alternatives you like. But understand that it is never going to happen, and all you are doing is masturbating to your own fantasies.

Other suggestions commonly floated: taking off a man from each side every five minutes of extra time (starting from the start of extra time, or just 5 minutes in). Having penalties prior to extra time, with the loser of the shootout starting extra time half a goal behind. There must be other ideas out there as well.

Start extra time with a runner on third base.

Liverpool have written to Uefa seeking an explanation as to how a supporter managed to evade security and injure the goalkeeper Adrián during their Uefa Super Cup final celebrations in Istanbul on Wednesday.

The club’s new Spanish keeper is a doubt for tomorrow’s Premier League game at Southampton after suffering a swollen ankle when a pitch invader careered into him following his decisive penalty save from Tammy Abraham at Besiktas Park. The supporter also struck Joe Gomez but while the Liverpool defender is fit to play at St Mary’s a late decision will be required on Adrian’s fitness.

But the 'problem' here isn't with VAR, it's with the rule change. You can't influence a goal with your hand this season, accidental or not.

Despite the stats I feel like Spurs have done alright. City have had chances but I haven’t felt like Spurs have been scrambling too often.

(For what it's worth, I hate that rule change.)

The ball goes into the goal after touching an attacking player’s hand/arm
A player gains control/possession of the ball after it has touches their hand/arm and then scores, or creates a goal-scoring opportunity
The ball touches a player’s hand/arm which has made their body unnaturally bigger
The ball touches a player’s hand/arm when it is above their shoulder (unless the player has deliberately played the ball which then touches their hand/arm)



The following will not usually be a free kick, unless they are one of the above situations:

The ball touches a player’s hand/arm directly from their own head/body/foot or the head/body/foot of another player who is close/near
The ball touches a player’s hand/arm which is close to their body and has not made their body unnaturally bigger
If a player is falling and the ball touches their hand/arm when it is between their body and the ground to support the body (but not extended to make the body bigger)
If the goalkeeper attempts to ‘clear’ (release into play) a throw-in or deliberate kick from a team-mate but the ‘clearance’ fails, the goalkeeper can then handle the ball

I can't tell from the replay whether the ball came off LaPorte's head/chest first (or perhaps the defender's head). I'm also not sure what is meant by the arm being "close to the body". In either case, I thought the rule for VAR was "clear and obvious error". I don't see such an error.

"A goal scored or created with the use of the hand or arm will be disallowed even if it is accidental. The handball rule does not consider intent by a player."

This seems to some extent inconsistent with the exceptions in the second paragraph of the rule. I'd say the same about the deflection (which I agree sent the ball to Jesus): if the ball deflected off some other body part first, then by the exceptions the goal should stand. And since I can't tell if it did deflect off some other body part first, I can't say there was "clear and obvious error".

I could be wrong about this, of course.

The following will not usually be a free kick, unless they are one of the above situations:

United gave Palace nothing and looked the sharper side.