Premier League 2019-20: 5 talking points from matchday 2

Lampard is still winless after three matches as Chelsea manager
Lampard is still winless after three matches as Chelsea manager

#4 VAR denies Manchester City once again

Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

Manchester City made history by becoming the first English side to sweep a domestic treble of League, FA Cup, and League Cup last season, but heading into the last few weeks of the campaign, they were very much on course in all four competitions they participated in.

A 1-0 loss away to Tottenham in the quarterfinals of the Champions League meant that The Cityzens needed a two-goal second leg victory to qualify.

The game was finely poised at 3-2 when Raheem Sterling thought he scored what was an injury-time winner to send The Etihad into a frenzy and propel Guardiola's men into the last four, however, an introspection by VAR revealed that Sergio Aguero was offside before setting Sterling up.

There were shades of Deja vu over the weekend, as Manchester City were once again denied an injury-time winner against the same opponent at the same stadium after consultation with VAR.

Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus thought he had scored a 93rd-minute goal to put City 3-2 up, but replays by VAR showed that Aymeric Laporte had unintentionally handled the ball before it reached his teammate.

Though it is just two matchdays in with 36 more games to go, the tightness of last season's title race suggest that the margins for error at the top of the league are getting smaller by the day, and as such, these dropped points by Manchester City, courtesy VAR could well come back to haunt them at the end of the season.

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