Gary Lineker weighed in on the key debates and VAR decisions from Tottenham Hotspurs’ victory over Liverpool

• 20:47, 30 SEP 2023
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Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker joked Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ‘might well explode’ after his side fell to a controversial, last-gasp defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.

Unbeaten before Saturday’s late kick-off, Liverpool were hoping to take advantage of Manchester City’s slip up earlier in the day to top the Premier League table.

Though from the 25th minute the odds were stacked against them as referee Simon Hooper referred to the VAR monitor to alter his initial yellow card decision and send Curtis Jones off. The 22-year-old’s foot rolled over the top of the ball after making contact to follow through on Yves Bissouma.

Less than 10 minutes later, Luis Diaz then thought he had put the 10-man Reds in front with a low strike across goal. The Colombian had been released by Mohamed Salah – and almost immediately the goal was ruled out by VAR for offside.

It has since emerged via a PGMOL statement that Diaz’s strike should have stood. The organisation admitted there had been “significant human error” and said it would “conduct a full review into the circumstances” which led to the glaring mistake.

Matters got worse for Liverpool as Heung-Min Son gave Spurs the advantage – and although Cody Gakpo levelled things up before the break he was forced off with injury.

Holding on with less men and the scoreline in the balance, substitute Diogo Jota then picked up two yellow cards in quick succession to also be sent marching. This left the Reds with nine on the field with 20 minutes plus stoppage time to hold out.

At this stage, Gary Lineker – a former Tottenham striker himself – took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to make his first light-hearted post-match prediction.

He stated: “2 red cards and what appears to be a VAR mess up with the Diaz offside. Think Klopp might have a rant.”

It looked as if Liverpool would hold on to a point against all the odds, however an unfortunate Joel Matip own goal in the 96th minute handed Spurs the three points they had pressed for throughout the second period.

Lineker then re-worded his previous sentiment, taking to X again to say: “Unbelievable. Think it’s safe to say it’s not been Liverpool’s day. Klopp might well explode.”