Iraola 'very upset' as VAR ruins Liverpool clean sheet in Palace win

Andoni Iraola admitted he was "very upset" after Liverpool’s comfortable 3-1 victory at Crystal Palace was marred by a controversial late penalty, according to the Mirror ^[1]. The head coach slammed the VAR decision that allowed Eddie Nketiah to score from the spot in injury time, ruining what would have been a fifth league clean sheet of the season.

The Daily Star reported that Iraola found an answer to his biggest tactical headache as his £100 million-plus attacking trio clicked, with goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak sealing the points ^[2]. Despite the win, which saw Liverpool climb into fourth place, Iraola remained focused on the injustice of the final moments at Selhurst Park.

Referee Tony Harrington awarded the penalty after Milos Kerkez clashed with Dario Osorio while both attempted to head a bouncing ball. VAR official Michael Salisbury confirmed the call after a lengthy review. "I am very upset because the ones in our box they are calling penalties and in the other box they are not," Iraola told Sky Sports, as cited by the Mirror ^[1]. He argued that the double standard was evident, comparing it to a denied penalty against Arsenal the previous weekend.

The match itself was largely dominated by Liverpool. Mac Allister opened the scoring with a flicked header from Dominik Szoboszlai’s delivery before the break, as noted by the Daily Star ^[2]. Florian Wirtz doubled the lead in the 54th minute, finishing off a slick move involving Bradley Barcola. This goal highlighted the potential of Iraola’s new attacking setup, proving that the trio could work in tandem.

Alexander Isak added a third goal in the 89th minute, his seventh Premier League strike in nine appearances. However, the mood shifted in the 95th minute when Nketiah converted the penalty, beating Alisson Becker. Iraola described the incident as a "clash of heads" rather than a foul, expressing frustration that VAR took two minutes to review the incident. "A clean sheet is not cheap in the Premier League and we wanted to win 3-0," he said.

For Crystal Palace, the defeat summed up their struggles at the foot of the table. They had chances to take the lead, with Yeremy Pino hitting the crossbar and Jorgen Strand Larsen having a goal ruled out for offside. Yet, they lacked the cutting edge to punish Liverpool’s early defensive lapses. The win allows Liverpool to head into the international break with momentum, despite Iraola’s lingering anger over officiating standards.