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John Stones again proved the late hero for Manchester City on Sunday, scoring a last-minute winner in the Premier League to sink a resilient Wolves side, just weeks after notching late on to salvage a draw against Arsenal.
This time, though, there was rather more controversy over City’s late strike to take the three points, as Bernardo Silva was flagged offside for standing in front of goalkeeper Jose Sa as Stones send his header into the net.
A VAR review then advised referee Chris Kavanagh to check the pitchside monitor to see if the Portuguese was interfering with play or impeding the goalkeeper, to which he was adjudged to not be doing - allowing the goal to stand, much to an incensed Wolves bench’s fury.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the whistle, both former City defender Micah Richards and former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge believed the goal should have been disallowed.
“He’s still in the keeper’s way so he has affected play. It’s that nudge that sends him [Sa] off-balance, he’s not set, so I understand Wolves’ [disappointment] at this particular moment,” said Richards.
“It used to be my role - Bernardo’s done it perfectly. I believe he has affected the goalkeeper slightly. Look at the timing of the header, he’s had to push [Silva] away then gets back on his line to get set. In the end there’s too much power on the header, I believe he’s impacted on it,” Sturridge added.
The rule both felt Silva was flouting involved “making an obvious action to clearly impact ... [on the opponent] playing the ball.”
Gary O’Neil on the Wolves bench was booked as his coaching staff protested the decision, which left the team bottom of the league table. City moved top with the win, ahead of previous leaders Liverpool’s match against Chelsea on Sunday evening.
“It did feel like a harsh one,” the Wolves boss said after the match. “I am trying to remain calm. I have been involved in a few of those and not had many go in our favour so I was expecting that outcome.”
City boss Guardiola said to BBC Sport: “Of course I didn’t understand it (being disallowed). Linesman, I don’t know the reason why he did it, but Bernardo isn’t disturbing the position.
“It was difficult in the first moment. Today in modern football they starve the keeper. In the moment what happened Sa had the perfect vision. The corner from Phil (Foden) and the header were magnificent.”
