VAR actually made a big mistake during Everton 0-1 Aston Villa (opinion)
Today at 08:45 AM
David Moyes was unable to secure a result against Aston Villa on his return to Everton.
The Glaswegian – who replaced Sean Dyche on Saturday – suffered defeat to Unai Emery after a goal from Ollie Watkins in the 51st minute, a result which leaves Everton 16th in the Premier League, just one point above the relegation zone with Ipswich Town still to play this week.
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 16 | EvertonEverton | 20 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 26 | -11 | 17 |
| 17 | IpswichIpswich | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 35 | -15 | 16 |
| 18 | WolvesWolves | 21 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 31 | 48 | -17 | 16 |
| 19 | LeicesterLeicester | 21 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 46 | -23 | 14 |
| 20 | SouthamptonSouthampton | 20 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 44 | -32 | 6 |
However, the Toffees, who want Tom Cannon, deserved the chance to equalise from the penalty spot – although Samuel Barrott and those in the VAR booth over at Stockley Park seemingly made a huge error.
Morgan Rogers should have been penalised for push on Jesper Lindstrom
David Moyes will surely be feeling hard done by after Morgan Rogers shoved Jesper Lindstrom to the ground inside the penalty box.
The Denmark international rose highest from a corner and seemed ready to power a header at goal, before the Aston Villa No.27 denied him a goalscoring opportunity with a blatant shove in the back.
We are unable to embed the footage for copyright reasons – although you can see the moment yourself on X (previously known as Twitter).
Jordan Pickford was visibly incensed after the push from Rogers went unpunished, and the Everton No.1 had every right to be – how VAR decided against awarding a penalty for this challenge is quite remarkable.
Of course, pushing and shoving inside the penalty box at corners is nothing new in the Premier League, and often goes unpunished, but this was more than mere jostling from the England international, who denied Lindstrom a clear goalscoring opportunity.
David Moyes seen screaming at Ashley Young during Everton 0-1 Aston Villa
Moyes also managed Ashley Young for the first time since being sacked by Manchester United back in April 2014, and the Everton No.18 almost cost the Toffees dearly.
The 39-year-old played a careless back pass during the opening 45 minutes which put Watkins through on goal, and the Aston Villa No.11 really ought to have scored.
Aside from that, Moyes was also seen yelling at Young to stay back, with Shamoon Hafez of BBC Sport noting: “Interesting to see that when Everton were in possession, David Moyes screamed out to Ashley Young and ushered him to fall back into his own half.”
Clearly, the 61-year-old does not want to see Young pushing too far forward in his new tactical setup after replacing Dyche.
