The 5 Premier League Clubs Who Have Benefited The Most From VAR This Season

David Tully

2 months ago

Categories: Galleries, West Ham United News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, Spurs, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Wolves

VAR continues to be a talking point for pundits and fans watching the Premier League.

There are constant complaints about how refereeing decisions are affecting the outcomes of matches.

Debate continues over whether the system needs to be axed or simply refined to make sure the correct calls are being made.

Press the next page as we list the five Premier League clubs that have benefited the most from VAR this season (stats from ESPN).

=4) Chelsea (+2)

The Blues have had an incredible 5 decisions go in their favour due to VAR, but another 3 have gone against them.

Two of these came on the opening day of the season when Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell both had goals chalked off for offside.

The next incident went against Chelsea, with Malo Gusto being sent off against Aston Villa. 3 penalties were given for Mauricio Pochettino’s team (against Arsenal, Tottenham and Brighton), while another was awarded against them (v Manchester United).

There were two more VAR decisions in the win over Palace in December (an offside goal given against Nicolas Jackson and a penalty awarded after a foul by Eberechi Eze). The last incident came at the end of the same month when a Luton goal by Elijah Adebayo was given offside.

=4) Manchester City (+2)

The Premier League champions have benefited from two VAR interventions so far this season.

Back in August, Burnley’s Anass Zaroury was sent off for a foul on Kyle Walker in the dying seconds of City’s 3-0 win on the opening day.

The other incident came in October after Rasmus Hojlund was adjudged to have fouled Rodri.

Erling Haaland duly dispatched the resulting spot-kick, helping Pep Guardiola’s men to a 3-0 victory.

=2) Fulham (+3)

The Cottagers had three decisions go in their favour after VAR got involved during matches in November.

Manchester United had a goal ruled out for offside during Fulham’s 1-0 defeat at Craven Cottage. A week latera against Aston Villa, a spot-kick was overturned after it was decided Timothy Castagne didn’t handle the ball.

A penalty was awarded to Marco Silva’s team after a foul on Harry Wilson by Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes at the end of that same month.

Kenny Tete’s goal against Liverpool in December was originally ruled out for offside before it was overturned by VAR. However, officials did rule against Fulham when Raul Jimenez was sent off for foul play against Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff.

=2) Brentford (+3)

The Bees have had four incidents go for them following the intervention of the video referee.

A foul by Tottenham’s Son on Matias Jenson led to a penalty being awarded in the 2-2 draw between the two teams back in August.

Just over a month later against Newcastle, a penalty was overturned with VAR judging that Bryan Mbeumo did not handle the ball in the box. There were also two disallowed goals for opposing teams (Leandro Trossard for Arsenal in November and Wolves’ Craig Dawson in February).

The only VAR decision that has gone against Thomas Frank’s side is when Ben Mee was given a red card for a foul on Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey.

1) Nottingham Forest (+4)

The Midlands club had two VAR decisions go in their favour in one game against Burnley back in September.

Lyle Foster’s goal was disallowed for offside, while the same player was later sent off in injury time after review for violent conduct.

Three other incidents also went Forest’s way. A goal by Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo was disallowed for offside in October, Callum Hudson-Odoi was awarded a penalty following a foul by Brighton’s Adam Hinshelwood a month later, while Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma was sent off for a foul on Ryan Yates in December.

The only VAR call to go against Forest was Anthony Elanga having a goal disallowed for offside against Spurs.