Cesar Azpilicueta told Sky Sports ‘it’s a clear red’ for Sadio Mane following the Liverpool forward’s elbow on the Chelsea player on Sunday.
There was a lot of drama heading into today’s Premier League showdown given the news that Romelu Lukaku was axed from the squad by Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel.
But inside only six seconds, Mane was already adding to that drama by getting booked by Antony Taylor.
The Chelsea manager felt that it was a red card, and despite VAR looking at the incident, the on-field call stood and Mane then opened the scoring for Liverpool minutes later.
During his post-match interview, Azpilicueta was sporting a black eye and he shared these pretty blunt thoughts on Mane and that elbow.
“It’s a clear red,” said Azpilicueta. “I don’t mind if it’s five seconds into the game, it’s the first actions, it’s a clear red.
“He doesn’t want to challenge. He doesn’t see the ball. He just lead with the elbow. Honestly, I don’t understand.
“We have had these kinds of decisions. The other day, two penalties, the VAR didn’t give it.
“Today, the first action, it’s a clear red card. We are getting these decisions against us. It could change a lot the way of the game.”
Most of the action happened in the first half, with Liverpool taking a 2-0 lead, but Chelsea fighting back just before the break.
It probably wasn’t a surprise that there weren’t any goals during the second period because both teams threw so much at the game during the first 45.
Both teams were well aware that their title hopes would go up in a puff of smoke if they lost, so they made sure they showcased every bit of aggression on the pitch so that didn’t happen.
Mane certainly showed it, the only question that has to be asked is that did he mean it? And in truth, only he will know if he was aware of Azpilicueta’s positioning when he went in with his elbow.
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