REF WATCH

Erling Haaland's second-half goal was initially ruled out for offside before VAR established that Haaland himself was onside. The bigger issue was Enzo Fernández, who was in an offside position and made a clear attempt to play the cross before the ball reached Haaland, potentially affecting Lisandro Martínez's ability to defend.

English football's refereeing body, Pro Ref, subsequently acknowledged that the goal should not have stood. The review concluded VAR should have recommended an on-field review because Fernández's actions from an offside position were relevant to the play.

Once an offside player makes an obvious attempt to play the ball and affects a defender's reaction, that involvement has to be considered. The later admission from Pro Ref makes this the clearest wrong call of the weekend.

Should Haaland's goal have been disallowed for Fernández interfering from an offside position?

Phil Foden was shown a red card after reacting to Bruno Fernandes during a first-half confrontation. The sending-off became another major talking point because Fernandes' role in provoking the incident was also heavily debated.

Post-match refereeing analysis supported the red card for Foden's retaliatory act. The separate question was whether Fernandes should also have received disciplinary action for his part in the confrontation.

Retaliation can still be a sending-off offence even when another player helps spark the confrontation. Foden's red can be correct while debate remains over whether Fernandes escaped an additional sanction.

Was Foden's red card right, and should Fernandes also have been punished?

Referee John Brooks awarded Sunderland a penalty after judging Ezri Konsa to have held Dan Ballard at a set-piece. VAR checked the incident and confirmed the on-field decision. David Raya saved Enzo Le Fée's penalty.

The VAR review did not judge the on-field penalty call to be a clear and obvious error, so the decision was allowed to stand. Arsenal strongly disputed the interpretation and requested an explanation from Pro Ref.

The contact is open to interpretation. The bigger VAR question is whether the original penalty decision crossed the high threshold required for intervention. On that basis, leaving the referee's call alone is defensible even if many fans disagree with the penalty itself.

Penalty, or normal set-piece grappling that should have been allowed to continue?