CONTROVERSY AFTERNOON AT ANFIELD: Premier League forced to release three VAR statements in Liverpool vs Chelsea referee chaos

Liverpool news as Premier League explain controversial refereeing calls against Chelsea with VAR confusio

Liverpool vs Chelsea had plenty of contentious

The return of the Premier League certainly meant a return of the drama this weekend. As domestic football kicked off once more following two weeks of international action, it didn’t disappoint.

There were goals, shocks, red cards, blunders, VAR controversy, overturned decisions, referees at the centre of it all, and general top-flight excitement across the board. Most of it played out in Liverpool’so far

Not only did they beat Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday, bouncing back from a sharp Nicolas Jackson equaliser after half-time, but title rivals Arsenal lost to Bournemouth, dropping points for the third time this season. Ahead of next weekend’s crunch meeting at the Emirates Stadium, it leaves Arne Slot’s team with the chance to go seven clear of the Gunners already.

Things were almost even better. Manchester City were seconds away from drawing to bottom-placed Wolves at Molineux. John Stones’ late winner leaves the champions hot on the heels of Liverpool.

That wouldn’t have been the case if Curtis Jones hadn’t inspired a fantastic win in the toughest test of the league so far. He won two penalties – only one was taken – as well as scoring the decisive goal. That was just a small part of his all-round performance, though.

Much like boiling Sunday’s blockbuster down to three goals misses most of the talking points, Jones’ game was much more than just his impact in the box. He was at the centre of most of the match drama regardless, and here, the Liverpool ECHO breaks down the Premier League explanation for a controversy-filled afternoon.

Communicated via the new Match Centre account on X (formerly Twitter), VAR intervention is now more readily accessible. On Sunday at Anfield it was certainly needed.