Alexis Mac Allister had no complaints after he was denied his first Premier League hat-trick by a controversial VAR call.
The Argentina midfielder thought he’d netted with a brilliant strike from 25 yards into the top corner early in the second half of Sunday’s 5-2 win over Leicester City, but after a VAR check which lasted nearly five minutes the goal was disallowed for a marginal offside against Enock Mwepu.
Instead, Mac Allister had to settle for two goals – a penalty which made it 4-2 and a brilliant free-kick in stoppage time - to take his tally for the season to four.
Stop that, Alexis Mac Allister!! 🤤🤤pic.twitter.com/7zNKPytHac
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) September 4, 2022
“Of course I was annoyed,” he said. “It was a fantastic goal and I’m not sure if I will score another goal like that in my life, but it’s football and we have to accept it. We have to get used to VAR, it’s part of the game now and of course sometimes it helps us with a decision.”
Mac Allister channeled any disappointment he might have felt in the right way, converting his third penalty in four matches before his free-kick with the last kick of the game put the seal on an impressive performance.
“The free kick was amazing. We have been working with the coaching staff on free-kicks on training – the speed with which we hit the ball and where it goes – and today it paid off, so I am really happy.”
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The free kick rounded off an impressive display by Albion, who had conceded a goal after 53 seconds and a second before the break after goals from Solly March and Moises Caicedo made it 2-1.
“It was a fantastic performance by the boys. It was a tough game today, especially in the first half, but we deserved to win,” added Mac Allister. “Apart from Fulham it’s been a good start for us and we’ll try to do even better in the next game against Bournemouth on Saturday.”