After the first leg of the play-off semi final between Derby County and Leeds United, it is advantage to Marcelo Bielsa's men. Leeds came away from Pride Park with a 1-0 advantage, with a goal from Kemar Roofe enough to secure the win.
Derby dominated in the early stages, but Leeds grew into the match as it went on. They defended well, and hit Derby on the counterattack when given the opportunity. Their goal was a deserved one, but the outcome of the game could have been very different had a couple of refereeing decisions gone the other way.
Referee Craig Pawson awarded Derby a penalty in the 77th minute, with Frank Lampard's side having a fantastic opportunity to draw level. However, the assistant referee would soon intervene to reverse the decision.
Controversy!
Craig Pawson awards Derby a spot kick but overturns his decision after consulting with the linesman. Justice served?
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It was an extremely tight call, but it appears the linesman may have been correct. However, Frank Lampard feels the decision should not have been overturned.
The Derby boss admitted it was a borderline decision, but claimed there was not enough evidence to overturn the original call, comparing the incident to 'human VAR'.
I'm not sure if it's a penalty - I think it's one of those you can get or not get. The referee gave it, but the linesman has decided it was clear enough to not be a penalty.
It's like human VAR, but with the actual VAR, the only way they turn decisions, as you hear from the rules, is if it's a clear and obvious challenge. It wasn't - I can't understand it.
I'm not standing here and saying it was a clear penalty; I've looked at it and it's probably right in the middle. Bogle has got his leg across, there's not huge contact, but enough that he's in front of him before he gets there.
But for the linesman to decide by himself and for the referee to accept that decision, making him completely wrong, is really difficult to understand. The linesman will say he thought it wasn't [clear], but the referee gave it, so work that one out.
Human VAR? We would call that an assistant referee, and he was probably right here.
Pawson had another big decision to make late on, when it appeared Leeds striker Klich appeared to headbutt a Derby defender. However, the referee decided to award a yellow card.
Craig Pawson is in the spotlight once more!
Klich appears to headbutt Tomori but escapes a red card. Correct decision?
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There is still plenty of spice to this tie, and the second leg at Elland Road should be a cracker.
