Paul Merson reacts to controversial VAR claim in Chelsea's PL fixture against Manchester City
A controversy over a penalty awarded to Manchester City against Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday (November 12) drew a reaction from Paul Merson.
Erling Haaland was at the heart of the drama, drawing a penalty without even touching the ball in the 24th minute. This incident occurred during a relatively quiet start to the match. Marc Cucurella was accused of grabbing Haaland and bringing him down, leading referee Anthony Taylor to point to the spot.
Despite Haaland's fall in the box, replays revealed that he had initially grabbed Cucurella's sleeve, using it to gain an advantageous position. This maneuver forced the Chelsea man into a defensive reaction, pulling the forward from running to meet the ball, which was sufficient for a penalty call.
Despite this, VAR chose to give the penalty, drawing sharp criticism from football pundit Paul Merson. He expressed his frustration on X (formerly Twitter), writing:
"VAR a joke again know what the rules are but don’t know the game!"
However, the penalty stood and Haaland converted it to open the scoring for his side.
Dramatic eight-goal stalemate at Stamford Bridge as Manchester City and Chelsea draw 4-4
In a stunning display of football, Stamford Bridge witnessed an epic 4-4 draw between two of the Premier League's heavyweights. The game, initially slow to ignite, exploded into life when Manchester City's Erling Haaland converted a penalty after a foul by Chelsea's Marc Cucurella.
The Blues, undaunted, struck back with Thiago Silva's precise header from a corner to level the score four minutes later. This was followed by Raheem Sterling's goal against his former team in the 37th minute. The former City winger ran into the back post to tap the ball in from close range.
City equalised through Manuel Akanji's unmarked header in first-half stoppage time, putting the score at 2-2 before the whistle blew for the break.
Two minutes into the second half, Haaland added to his tally, seemingly steering Manchester City towards victory. Chelsea, though, equalised once more, as Nicolas Jackson pounced on a loose ball to score the rebound after the save was pushed out into the area by Ederson (67').
This set the stage for Rodri's late goal, which took a rather lucky deflection off Thiago Silva and put the score at 4-3. However, the drama was far from over. Armando Broja, introduced as a substitute, earned the Blues a penalty, which was coolly converted by Lewis Palmer (90+5').
This thrilling draw sees Chelsea remain unbeaten against the current top four, looking to build on this momentum post-international break against Newcastle United. Manchester City, meanwhile, missing an opportunity to cement their lead at the top, now face a crucial home fixture against Liverpool.