Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea were denied a clear penalty
Mauricio Pochettino was not happy with Chelsea being denied a penalty after a clear handball from Jack Grealish following a Cole Palmer freekick. The Blues missed several big chances and were punished duly by Manchester City when Bernardo Silva slotted home.
The Blues were a more threatening side throughout the match and created plenty of chances, but lacked the finishing touch in the box. They should have wrapped up the game earlier, but Chelsea’s player profligacy was on display and they paid the price for missing the chances.
The Blues didn’t let City have a shot on target until the second half and nullified them, but City managed to find their way back in the game when Silva’s 84th-minute strike was enough to send them to the FA Cup final, where they will meet Manchester United or Coventry.
However, had Chelsea received a penalty, the story would have been different, and even Pochettino bemoaned a controversial penalty. Speaking to the media after the match, he said via Daily Mail:
‘’From the touchline, it was difficult to see if it was a penalty. I was talking [to the referee] because after Jesus [Perez], my staff said it was a penalty. I only said to him, Why not go and check the penalty on the TV?. I think from what I saw [it was a penalty], but move on.’’
It was a clear penalty, and it touched Grealish’s hands when Palmer took his freekick. It is evident that the referee made a mistake decision in continuing the play when they should have looked at the Var, especially in such important games. The story would have been different if we had been penalised.
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If Jackson hadn’t blown so many opportunities and Ben Chilwell hadn’t promptly squared the ball to Raheem Sterling, we would have been able to end the game sooner. These games depend heavily on these small margins, which we failed to capitalise on. We ultimately paid the price when Silva scored for City in the 84th minute. City gave us numerous clear-cut opportunities to score goals, but they were simply too inept to take advantage of them.