Harry Kane has received the benefit of video in other competitions, but this time Video Assistant Referee directly helped his club, Tottenham Hotspur, take a 1-0 lead over Chelsea after 90 minutes of their League Cup semifinal.
Kane was initially ruled offside when he was chopped down in the box by Blues goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
[ RECAP: Spurs 1-0 Chelsea ]
VAR came to the rescue, though, and Kane has no doubts about the call made before he converted his penalty kick to make it 1-0.
“I played to the whistle and nicked it round the keeper,” Kane said. “It was a clear penalty. VAR is there for a reason and they got it right.”
Believe it or not, his manager wasn’t wild about it. Not because it isn’t right to implement VAR, rather concerned what could happen if it isn’t running smoothly when it comes to the Premier League.
Here’s the boss in question, Spurs’ Mauricio Pochettino:
“I don’t like the VAR. Today we get the benefit of it but after watching the World Cup and another league like La Liga I see that nobody is happy from day one that they started to use it. To get the benefit is nice but I am unhappy to win the game like this. I prefer the technology but in a different way. Being clear: I am pro technology because you cannot stop evolution. But we are waiting so long, it is not clear what are the rules.
“We all have to agree, the players, the coaching staff, I watch every week La Liga and nobody is happy, the big clubs and the small clubs. If you are playing to win the title or to stay up nobody is happy. … We have six months to improve the system and there is a lot of work to do.”
If he doesn’t like it, just imagine what Maurizio Sarri is going to say about it. Also, perhaps it’s worth noting that rumored Real Madrid target Pochettino is watching a lot of Spanish football. Just perhaps, because he did talk about a possible 20-year reign in North London earlier this week.
Kane said Chelsea had a point to prove in its latest visit to Wembley Stadium to meet his Tottenham Hotspur, and Danny Rose agreed with his striker.
Rose praised the home side for digging in against a team which was inspired by a 3-1 loss in the same venue during league play, and thinks the second leg sets up nicely for Spurs.
“There is going to be a bit more pressure on them to come out and attack us now, but we are one of the best counter-attacking teams in the league so we are looking forward to it,” Rose said. “We won’t go there and try to protect the lead, we will play our game.”
