‘I love VAR!’ jokes buoyant Lampard after Coventry secure first win

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Frank Lampard joked he loved VAR after Igor Jesus’ disallowed goal meant Coventry City claimed their first Premier League win of the season at Nottingham Forest.

Jay Dasilva scored Coventry’s first goal of the campaign when he stole in behind Daniel Munoz and fired Carl Rushworth’s long pass beyond Matz Sels in the 55th minute.

Forest eventually upped their game in response and went close when Igor Jesus dinked the ball over Rushworth before seeing Bobby Thomas clear it off the line.

Igor Jesus did get the ball in the back of the net in the 86th minute, but he was deemed to have fouled Caleb Yirenkyi in the build-up after referee Jarred Gillett went to the pitchside monitor.

“I love VAR!” Lampard joked to Sky Sports.

In a more serious tone, he continued: “I’m not going to comment too much because I know it will be swings and roundabouts as the season goes on.

“I was worried. From my view, it looked like he had clipped him. I went back to the bench and asked, ‘Has he clipped him?’ They said, ‘No, it looked like he stumbled over his own feet.’

“So I spent the next 30 seconds waiting, but as they took their time going over it, I thought we might be all right.

“As you see on the replay, he has that little step on him which puts him off balance and it’s a foul.

“I won’t get carried away because sometimes they go for you and sometimes they go against you, but I think that’s VAR reaching the right decision.”

— Coventry City (@CoventryCityFC) September 19, 2026

Forest have now failed to score in their first three home games in a league campaign for the first time in their history and have only won once at the City Ground in the top flight this year.

Oliver Glasner felt a shift in the atmosphere which he attributed to their difficult season last season, in which they finished 16th.

“We wanted three points and the players gave everything until the end but we made one big mistake, one big ball from the goalkeeper,” Glasner told BBC Sport.

“We tried everything until the end but we have to blame ourselves. It’s the third home game without a goal and that makes it difficult to win.

“We have to find a solution. This was the first time I could feel the heaviness of the past, it was very quiet in the dressing room. When we conceded the goal, everyone was nervous, the entire City Ground was nervous and I think the reason is last year.

“There is nobody to blame, the solution is to play with more freedom and more confidence.”

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