Llorente treble fires Spurs after more VAR chaos

Fernando Llorente's hat-trick helped fire Tottenham Hotspur to a crushing 6-1 victory over third-tier Rochdale Wednesday in an FA Cup fifth-round replay packed with contentious decisions that thrust the VAR system back into the spotlight. Llorente's second-half treble, a double from Son Heung-min and a late effort from Kyle Walker-Peters in driving snow at a freezing Wembley Stadium settled a game where tension had threatened to bubble over before the break. The Video Assistant Referee disallowed an early Tottenham goal before awarding them a disputed penalty, which was converted by Son, only for referee Paul Tierney to chalk off his effort and book the player for stopping during his run-up. Rochdale's Stephen Humphrys cancelled out Son's opener, rubbing salt into Spurs' wound and ensuring the halftime debate centred on the VAR system, which is being trialled in the FA Cup this season. Spurs made those arguments academic, however, with five goals after the break to set up a quarter-final tie away to Premier League struggler Swansea City. Part of the debate surrounding VAR is about the length of time it takes for decision to be made and how fans are often left in the dark about the reason behind them. Both issues were illustrated after six minutes at Wembley.

So happy for my first hat-trick with the Spurs! ⚽️⚽️⚽️ We’re in the quarter-finals! ?? #COYS #THFC #FACup pic.twitter.com/6NcR3BzR4Z

— Fernando Llorente (@llorentefer19) February 28, 2018

Spurs thought they had opened the scoring when Erik Lamela tapped into the net, but a lengthy pause followed before the goal was chalked off by the VAR, with replays suggesting it may have been for shirt pulling by Llorente. Son gave Spurs the lead when he curled home from 12m after 23 minutes and two minutes later the VAR was called upon again after the referee said Kieran Trippier was pulled down by Matt Done outside the area. The video assistant said the foul had continued into the box and awarded the penalty, which Son stroked home, only for the referee to rule his effort out and produce a yellow card because he stopped and re-started during his run-up. Humphrys drew the third tier side improbably level when he took the ball in his stride and beat Spurs goalkeeper Michel Vorm. The second half, however, was barely a contest. Llorente chipped Spurs into the lead from Lucas Moura's through ball, toe-poked the ball home from close range to make it 3-1 and completed his hat-trick with a header. Son tapped into an empty net after 65 minutes and 20-year-old Walker-Peters netted his first Spurs goal in stoppage time.

➡️ Right foot ⬅️ Left foot ? Header

A perfect hat-trick in 12 second-half minutes for @llorentefer19! ???? pic.twitter.com/k2CiOcGC1R— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 28, 2018

RESULTTottenham 6 (Son 23, 65, Llorente 47, 53, 59, Walker-Peters 90+4) Rochdale 1 (Humphrys 31)  QUARTER-FINALS LINE UPSwansea v TottenhamMan Utd v BrightonLeicester v ChelseaWigan v Southampton