Manchester City's 5-3 win over Sunderland at the Etihad on Sunday had almost everything — eight goals, a chaotic second half, and a handball shout that will be talked about for a while yet. The Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel has now had its say, and it has sided with referee Rob Jones.
The incident in question arrived during that frantic second period, when the ball struck Sunderland's Elliot Anderson on the hand as he tussled with Enzo Le Fée inside the City area. Jones waved away the protests immediately. Michael Salisbury, on VAR duty at Stockley Park, saw no reason to intervene.
The panel agreed. By a three-to-two majority, it backed the original call. "The referee's call of no penalty for a potential handball offence against Anderson was supported, 3:2," the panel wrote. "Both players were engaged and the ball was bouncing at close proximity after deflecting off [Enzo] Le Fee."
Two panellists, though, felt there was a deliberate secondary movement of the arm from Anderson that constituted a handball offence. The panel comprises a trio of former players and coaches, one Premier League figure, and a refereeing-body representative, so split decisions are not unusual.
On the separate question of whether Salisbury should have got involved at all, the panel was more decisive. It voted four to one that the VAR had been right to leave the original call untouched. That is a stronger endorsement of the process than the handball verdict itself.
For City, the win sent them to the top of the league going into the extended international break. Enzo Maresca's side remain perfect in the Premier League. There is a long way to go, of course, but the early signs are encouraging.
Sunderland head coach Régis Le Bris might feel differently about the handball call, though he will have taken some encouragement from a spirited performance. Anderson, for his part, has been cleared of any wrongdoing and has enjoyed a fine start to the season.
City will now turn their attention to October's trip to Anfield. That is a fixture that tends to define seasons, and it will be a proper test of their credentials.