Mike Dean reacts to huge Haaland controversy in Tottenham v Man City
Mike Dean has reacted after Erling Haaland was involved in late controversy as Manchester City claimed a 1-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ange Postecoglou’s decision to bench both Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski backfired as Pep Guardiola’s side dominated the first half of the Premier League clash on Wednesday (26 February).
Djed Spence was also left out of the squad, with Jeremy Doku causing Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie all sorts of problems in North London.
Fresh off another dig from Roy Keane, James Maddison failed to silence the ex-Manchester United midfielder on this occasion.
Meanwhile, Kevin Danso was blamed for his role in Haaland’s match-winning goal. However, the Norwegian will no doubt feel aggrieved that he didn’t leave North London with two more goals to his name in the Premier League.
Dean reacts as Haaland goal ruled out v Tottenham
Haaland put the ball in the back of the net for a second time with moments to play on Wednesday. However, after a VAR review, the goal was ruled out for handball in rather controversial circumstances.
| Tottenham v Man City | Goals | Shots on target | Big chances missed |
| Erling Haaland | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Speaking live on Sky Sports News (26 February, 9:24 pm), Dean said, “I think there is inconclusive evidence there so the goal will be given.
“I think it has come off the Tottenham player there because if you reverse the angle it doesn’t look like it has hit Haaland’s hand at all. I think it will be a goal because there is no conclusive evidence to say it has definitely come off his hand. We’ve looked at it three or four times and we can’t really tell.”
Postecoglou gets lucky break at Tottenham
Haaland will no doubt feel as though his goal should have stood in the closing stages at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. As a result, he will feel aggrieved, and it seems as though Postecoglou and Spurs have gotten away with one, especially as Dean thought the goal would be given.
Ultimately it means nothing as Spurs still lost the match, and City still claimed all three points. However, had the score been 0-0 when Haaland’s second goal went in, it would have been a very different story.
Therefore, while VAR will probably get away with one on this occasion due to the insignificance of the goal, this is a clear sign that the system still needs plenty of improvement.