Wolves coach Nuno criticises VAR after delays following Neves wonderstrike

Wolves coach Nuno Espirito Santo says the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) cannot be allowed to affect goal celebrations after his side drew 1-1 with Manchester United.

Ruben Neves scored a sensational equaliser at Molineux on Monday to cancel out Anthony Martial’s first-half opener for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men.

The midfielder unleashed a stunning curling strike that clipped the underside of the crossbar, scoring his 10th goal from outside the penalty box for Wolves.

But there were lengthy delays after the goal as VAR checked whether or not there was an offside in the build-up to Neves’ 20-yard effort.

“I didn’t want to lose that moment,” Nuno told a news conference. “I don’t know how they’re going to solve it, I gave my opinion to it, but it’s the emotion.

“You celebrate a goal and it’s such a beautiful moment, so when you are stood in silence waiting for it, don’t take that away from the people, because it’s the most important moment in football.

“I was hoping [Neves would score], not expecting, because he’s fantastic. He has this technique of kicking the ball, he’s done it sometimes before, but he has to do it over and over again because this is what counts.”

First goal of the 18/19 @premierleague season.
First goal of the 19/20 @premierleague season.

@rubendsneves_ pic.twitter.com/Yk3lYsZW0d

— Wolves (@Wolves) August 19, 2019

After Rui Patricio saved Paul Pogba’s penalty at 1-1, Wolves became the first team to come from behind and avoid defeat in three consecutive Premier League games against Manchester United.

Nuno’s men beat United at home in both the league and FA Cup last term and the head coach praised another high-class home performance from his side.

“I am proud of all the performance because this is what matters in this moment of the competition,” he added.

“It was a game of emotion, this is what Molineux enjoys and we have to thank them [the fans] so much because the atmosphere when we get control of the game and create chances, they really push us, amazing.

The decisive Molineux moment #WOLMUN pic.twitter.com/7ZWe2EjREB

— Premier League (@premierleague) August 19, 2019

“Let’s do what we do, play with the energy we should play with, embrace the challenge and fight for the game. The boys fought for every single ball, it was so good, I’m very proud of them.”