All Whites forward Chris Wood in a double dose of drama during Burnley’s EPL loss

All Whites forward Chris Wood was caught up in a double dose of drama during Burnley’s 1-0 loss in the English Premier League to Southampton on Sunday (New Zealand time).

A goal in the fifth minute for former Burnley player Danny Ings had given the Turf Moor visitors an early lead, and it remained so, after the hosts, exhausted by injuries, were denied a pair of opportunities with Wood.

The 28-year-old, who scored Burnley’s first goal of the season in last weekend’s 4-2 loss to Leicester City, had a penalty appeal rejected midway through the first half when defender Jan Bednarek he had his hands behind his back and Wood. fell to the grass.

Then after the break, there was more controversy.

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After Wood approached the equalizer with a header that Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy kept out with a flying save, it looked like he had put his team on the scoreboard in the 56th minute.

After getting behind the Saints defense to hold on to a long pass, Wood continued his run and sucked in McCarthy to get the ball into the back of the net, only for assistant referee Scott Ledger to already point him out of bounds. game.

However, under VAR rules, umpires are instructed not to signal or whistle until a move is completed, leading to frustration in Burnley’s ranks, believing their forward was at stake.

A VAR check at the goal was not available due to an apparent problem with the headphones of referee Andre Marriner, who complained that he was unable to hear VAR Mike Dean in downtown Stockley Park.

However, replays showed that Wood was truly offside, by the smallest of margins.

And that was the closest the home team got, with Southampton sealing their first top flight at Burnley since 1971.

Elsewhere on Sunday (NZT), there was late drama in two of the other three games.

Manchester United beat Brighton 3-2 at Falmer Stadium after Bruno Fernandes scored a penalty with the clock approaching 100 minutes.

After Solly March tied for Brighton in the fifth minute of stoppage time, there was still time for United, who were awarded a penalty when Harry Maguire’s header bounced off the arm of Brighton forward Neal Maupay before being cleared. of the line.

Referee Chris Kavanagh immediately blew the final whistle, only to be surrounded by United players calling for handball to be handed over. Kavanagh reviewed the incident on the pitch monitor and awarded a penalty, much to the annoyance of the Brighton players who protested.

When the chaos subsided, Fernandes kept his cool to convert from the spot.

At The Hawthorns, host West Bromwich Albion held a three-goal lead after 27 minutes against Chelsea, only for the visitors to fight back for a 3-3 draw, with Tammy Abraham scoring in the third minute of injury time.

In the other match, the visiting Everton beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park Stadium, marking the first time since 1993 that they have won their first three games of a season.

The drama came a bit earlier in that game, with Richarlison scoring what turned out to be the winning goal from the spot in the 40th minute after Joel Ward became the latest player to fail in the newly adopted portrayal of handball. defensive since the Premier League decided. to align with the rest of European football and apply the sentence in a stricter way rather than judging it on intent.