Cesar Azpilicueta believes Sadio Mane should have been sent off in Liverpool clash
Speaking on Sky Sports after the game against Liverpool (h/t Liverpool Echo), Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has claimed that Sadio Mane should have been sent off for his aerial challenge in the first ten seconds of the match.
Mane had gone in with a pointed elbow while competing for a header in the clash at Stamford Bridge and was shown a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor. It divided opinions amongst the two fanbases, with the Blue half largely believing it was enough to warrant a sending off.
Azpilicueta has slammed the referee’s decision for deeming Mane’s challenge unworthy of a red card. He explained:
“It’s a clear red. I don’t mind if it’s five seconds into the game or the first action, it’s a clear red. Today, the first action is a clear red card and, of course, we are getting decisions against us. Of course, it could change the way of the game.”
Heavily critical of VAR, the Chelsea captain spoke to the media after the game in London, which ended 2-2 after the Blues came back from two goals behind to salvage a point.
VAR had looked at the challenge to confirm it was not worthy of a red card, but Azpilicueta felt that Chelsea were let down by the refereeing decisions that went against them. The Spaniard also stated that he wants to see more consistency where penalties are concerned.
“Sometimes we are seeing a joke of penalties honestly and sometimes we see real dangerous actions and we don’t take action so a lot of meetings we do every season. It’s disappointing these kinds of decisions, they’re clear. I watched the replay but I didn’t need this because in life I knew this was a clear red.”
Lucky escape for Mane?
To add salt to Azpilicueta’s wounds, Mane then went on to score the opening goal of the game, rounding Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy after defender Trveoh Chalobah made a mistake. Mohamed Salah doubled our lead but all it took was one silly foul from James Milner near the box to turn the whole tide of the game.
As for Mane, he can be a bit rash going into tackles and should be careful in similar situations in the future. And as far as we are concerned, our fans would perhaps think it evens out the injustice we saw with Harry Kane’s tackle on Andy Robertson in our 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur last month.
Although these protests will not faze Liverpool, manager Jurgen Klopp will still feel concerned about his team’s performances of late. The Merseyside club has not won in their last four league fixtures, and sit eleven points away from leaders Manchester City in the Premier League, albeit having a game in hand.
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Sadio Mane will also be leaving behind this news in England, after jetting off to the Africa Cup of Nations to represent Senegal. The midfielder, along with stars Mohammed Salah and Naby Keita, will be unavailable for selection for Liverpool’s next few games, and Klopp will hope that his squad pull together to put in some impressive performances in our quest to chase City in the title race.
