DIG A HOLE VAR buried us, fumes Silva, as late clanger kills Toffees
YET more VAR controversy and Lucas Digne’s last-gasp own-goal piled the pressure right back on Marco Silva.
The Everton boss looked to be heading for back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season after an inspired substitution midway through the second half.
He sent on Dominic Calvert-Lewin for Alex Iwobi, and within two minutes the 22-year-old had scored his fifth goal in as many appearances.
Silva’s hopes of another vital three points were shortlived, however, with Brighton gifted an opportunity to level when VAR official Lee Mason, rather than referee Andrew Madley, spotted that Michael Keane had trodden on Aaron Connolly’s foot in the box.
It was a soft award but Brighton weren’t complaining and Neal Maupay duly despatched the penalty beyond Jordan Pickford.
To add to his misery, the Everton keeper was then beaten again in time added on when his captain mistakenly turned home Leandro Trossard’s low cross. It was harsh on Digne, who was arguably Everton’s standout performer.
It was also a bitter pill to swallow for Silva, whose side dropped a place into 16th and are hovering ominously above the bottom three.
What frustrated him most was the fact Mason awarded the penalty against Keane 4 ............. Shots on Target ........... 6 3 ............. Shots off Target........... 2 1 ................Blocked Shots ............ 2 0 ..................... Corners................... 5 12 .......................Fouls ....................12 3 .....................Offsides .................. 2 2 .................Yellow Cards ............... 1 0 ...................Red Cards ................0 80.6 .... Passing Success %.. 80.4 47 .................Duels Won ............. 46 50.5 ....... Duel Success % ..... 49.5 18 .....................Tackles ..................17 61.1........... Tackles Won %....... 41.2 55.3 ......... Possession % ....... 44.7 44.6 .......Territorial Adv% .... 55.4 526 .............Total Passes ......... 424 8 ................ Total Crosses .............11 145 ............... Lost Balls ............. 137 71 ................. Recoveries..............65 55.5 ........1st Half Poss %. ..... 44.5 55.2....... 2nd Half Poss %. .... 44.8 but hadn’t alerted Madley to a tug on Richarlison’s shirt in the area by Martin Montoya earlier.
Silva said: “We scored the second and after they found one moment, that moment – the penalty – made a big impact.
“It was the decisive moment for us.
“After the penalty, we still should control the game differently because you cannot concede a goal after 91, 92 minutes on a counter- attack when you are playing away.
“But the penalty and why that decision happened is so difficult for us to understand, because 15 minutes earlier there was a clear penalty for us on Richarlison and the VAR didn’t see anything.”
Brighton’s Pascal Gross opened the scoring with a ferocious free-kick from just outside the area, albeit one that Pickford got a hand to and could have saved.
But Everton were soon back on terms when Richarlison’s glancing header hit Adam Webster’s head and shot past Mat Ryan for an own-goal.
Calvert- Lewin’s first- time strike looked to have put Everton on the path to victory but Mason’s call changed all that.
Brighton boss Graham Potter hadn’t seen replays of the penalty incident but he had some sympathy for Silva.
He said: “Apparently on VAR there’s a contact, but I haven’t seen the incident so I don’t know.
“We’re still going to sometimes get harsh refereeing decisions because ultimately that’s still what it is, it’s somebody’s opinion.
“It’s part of the game, unfortunately.”