Manchester United were able to breathe a sigh of relief after Atletico Madrid had a goal ruled out for handball in the build-up to a Johnny Cardoso strike just before the half-time interval. Full-back Marcos Llorente appeared to handle the ball during a coming together with Ayden Heaven, before finding his teammate, who found the back of the net.
VAR overturns on-field decision
While the on-field decision was originally to award the goal, Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg was instructed by VAR to head to the monitor to overturn his decision. It was a call that former Premier League referee Mark Clattenberg agreed with, giving an immediate verdict on commentary.
Speaking to Amazon Prime, Clattenberg said: "There's no doubt the ball does touch his hand, the action has to be deliberate because he doesn't score from that action, it's to a teammate. It has to be a deliberate handball. If it's an accidental handball, the play continues and the goal should stand. The referee has to decide is it deliberate or not?"
Referee's summer discussion cited
When asked for his view, Clattenberg added: "What the VAR have done and the referee have had a discussion over the summer, does he gain an advantage from it? He does because it blocks a pass for the Manchester United defender. The action, he does make a movement of his arm to the ball so I wouldn't be surprised if this is disallowed for handball."
