Liverpool's Florian Wirtz thought he was offside as little-known Premier League rule allowed controversial goal at Fulham to stand

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Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz admitted he was taken aback when his disallowed goal against Fulham was overturned by VAR, with a little-known Premier League regulation explaining why the incident appeared misleading to the naked eye. Reds boss Arne Slot bemoaned his side's failure to take three points after Cody Gakpo's 94th-minute strike was cancelled out by Harrison Reed at Craven Cottage.

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Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz admitted he was surprised to discover his disallowed strike at Fulham was overturned by VAR, with a little-known Premier League rule explaining why images of the incident were not all they appeared to be to the naked eye.

Wirtz notched his second league goal in three appearances to haul The Reds level at Craven Cottage, running on to Conor Bradley's pass to lift his shot beyond Bernd Leno.

Fulham would go on to claim a dramatic point as Harrison Reed's 97th-minute screamer from long range cancelled out what looked like a winner from Cody Gakpo three minutes earlier as Liverpool manager Arne Slot was left shaking his head following the 2-2 draw in west London.

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Just over half an hour earlier, however, the Dutchman was thankful for the Premier League having a higher tolerance level when VAR technology is used to judge marginal offside calls.

Match official Craig Pawson, with the aid of his assistant referee Lee Betts, deemed that Wirtz had moved too early ahead of Fulham's last defender Issa Diop. The decision to disallow the goal was made on-field instantly, but following a lengthy VAR review, the original decision was overturned by Andy Madley.

Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Wirtz said: "I was sure it was offside, so I didn't even celebrate. I was happy that I scored but I'd rather take the three points."

Florian Wirtz scores Liverpool's equaliser on 57 minutes at Fulham

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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher even raised questions on Sky about whether the semi-automated VAR offside review had wrongly allowed the goal to stand.

But at the start of the 2020/21 Premier League season, it was announced that a certain tolerance level, or margin for error, would be applied to the technology in the English top-flight, with semi-automated offside replacing the manual drawing of lines only this season.

In every other competition, offside is given to the millimetre, but in the Premier League there is five centimetres' grace, which is effectively the width of the green line.

There have been previous examples already this season.

Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes was deemed to have been onside in the build-up to Harvey Barnes' winning goal against Manchester City in November, despite looking offside on the match coverage.

Later that month, Lukas Nmecha's opener for Leeds United in their 2-1 home defeat by Aston Villa was allowed to stand after a VAR image in the build-up showed Gabriel Gudmundsson's boot on the line.

Even on Sunday, the second of Igor Thiago's three goals in Brentford's 4-2 victory at Everton stood, despite the naked eye appearing to show he had drifted ahead of defender Michael Keane.

It was Wirtz's second Premier League goal in three matches

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Fulham manager Marco Silva refused to blame the regulation and imperfections in the technology after Wirtz's strike had cancelled out Harry Wilson's opener.

Reflecting on the controversy, Silva said: "It was a moment when we lost the ball. We created a lot of connections and the positions of the midfielders we have to be more careful. It looked a clear offside but the lines gave a goal. We took a bit of time to react.

"The players are doing so much for the football club. The numbers are short. Harrison Reed is not playing the minutes he would like, but he is the first one pushing the others to go forward. I am very pleased for him because if someone deserves a moment like that, it is him."

Slot: Two goals should be enough to win

Silva's reflections might have struck a more exasperated tone had Reed's moment of individual brilliance not arrived after Gakpo's improvised finish at the far post from Jeremie Frimpong's cross, four minutes into stoppage time.

Gakpo removed his shirt to be cautioned by Pawson before the forward - deputising in place of the injured Hugo Ekitike - was replaced for the closing stages.

Slot mirrored his compatriot's dejected demeanour as the pair trudged off following Reed's vicious retribution, with the Liverpool manager bemoaning his side's failure to collect three points following the disappointing stalemate at home to Leeds on New Year's Day.

Harrison Reed had the final say as Fulham salvaged a dramatic point

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"In an away game, scoring two goals should maybe be enough to win the game," Slot told Sky Sports. "It's not for the first time this season that we fight so hard and think we have a win but concede an incredible strike. We brought Joe Gomez in but they took it short. We missed out on a good result.

"We had our chances in the first half. In an ideal world, we see a Liverpool team that is dominant but creates more chances. We scored two goals, scored two disallowed goals and hit the bar. Again, it wasn't enough.

"The players are giving everything they have. I have to keep in mind that I have to keep them available. Alexander Isak is out and I have to overload or play Hugo more, a player who has never played in the Premier League. You have to manage that. We still have 11 very good players on the pitch.

"It's not only for us, but many teams don't create chances every game. It's not perfect but at least we've created a few more chances today than last week."

Slot added later to the BBC: "Once in a while, the boys should get a reward, but we do not get it [today] and once again, the only one to blame is ourselves.

"If it had finished 1-1 then I would maybe still have been disappointed. It is not the first time this season that we have conceded in the final seconds of the game.

"So many points have disappeared for us. Of course, it is frustrating. It's also frustrating that their first chance of the game goes in - that is also not the first time.

"We have relied during the whole season on good and bad luck and that is something we have to improve. We have to improve, so a shot in the last minute does not immediately lead to us losing points. That is what we are trying to do, but we have not done that yet."

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