Cardiff City succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea as some major refereeing controversy took the headlines on Sunday.
The loss was a huge blow to Cardiff’s survival hopes as the Bluebirds slipped further down the pecking order ahead of another crunch match with Manchester City on Wednesday. As for Chelsea, they maintained their top four push with the win, despite the circumstances in which it was achieved.
The first half was goalless, as Chelsea had the majority of the ball without the end product. Cardiff took the lead early into the second half as Victor Camarasa produced an instinctive finish from the edge of the box to put the Bluebirds in a commanding position. Chelsea toiled to find an equaliser, but failed to produce much until the controversy sprouted.
Cesar Azpilicueta headed the equalizer but replays showed that the Chelsea skipper was clearly in an offside position – the Cardiff players and manager were naturally furious, but the goal stood. Buoyed on by it, substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored the winner when he headed in from Willian’s cross in the 91st minute. The loss was a bitter pill for Cardiff to swallow, but they had no choice in the end and relegation continues to look likely.
Refereeing errors cost Cardiff dear
Cardiff put in a great performance on Sunday and they managed to nullify Chelsea to a great extent. They took the lead through a well-taken goal and looked to be on course for a memorable win which would have put them back in contention for survival. Yet the refereeing errors cost them dearly.
Cesar Azpilicueta scored the equaliser but the Spaniard was clearly in an offside position as the ball was flicked on by Marcos Alonso. This was missed by the linesman though and the goal changed the whole complexion of the game with the Chelsea players starting to believe again three points was likely. Another controversial call was seen when Antonio Rudiger was just given a yellow card for a late challenge on Kenneth Zohore and despite the striker seemingly getting to the ball before keeper Kepa, Craig Pawson did not deem it a sending off.
Chelsea rode their luck and found a winner through Ruben Loftus-Cheek whilst on the other hand, Cardiff were furious that refereeing inadequacy cost them the game. Every point is vital for them in their race to avoid relegation, and they lost three on Sunday. Nobody can blame Neil Warnock for the fury he pelted towards the referees after the game and arguably he done well to not display his anger more than he did.
Sarri not letting go of his stubbornness
When Chelsea released the starting lineup for the game, waves of Chelsea fans let everyone know of their fury. Sarri went with a controversial selection and opted to rest key players like Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante with the reasoning he gave for this that the duo was involved heavily in the international break and had played a lot of games this season.
He could have chosen to include the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in their place, but he showed no love to them. Willian and Pedro lined up in attack, whereas Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley played in midfield. Hudson-Odoi made his England debut in the break and impressed, but he failed to play a single minute against Cardiff – another disappointment for the youngster.
Loftus-Cheek has also impressed of late, but Sarri persisted with Kovacic and Barkley. His stubbornness is one of the reasons for Chelsea’s demise, and it has prominently been reflected in the teamsheets. He needs to show some flexibility to save Chelsea and potentially his job – failing to do so could end his tenure quite quickly.
The win did little more than papering over the cracks for Chelsea
Chelsea got the three points, and it kept them alongside Arsenal and Manchester United in the table before Arsenal’s fixture on Monday night. They have a decent chance of qualifying for the Champions League if one looks at the table as Chelsea are just a point behind fourth-placed Tottenham. But if one looked at their performance against Cardiff, it showed no promise whatsoever.
Their lineup was inferior and it was visible on the pitch – Victor Camarasa marked Jorginho and it affected Chelsea. They failed to build up effectively and their possession was not penetrative; the lack of movement was visible, as few Chelsea players attempted to get behind the Cardiff defensive line.
Teams have found a way of stopping Chelsea recently and Sarri has done little to counter it. He got the three points against Cardiff, but similar questions will be asked when Brighton visit Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. The Italian is the Chelsea manager right now, but he can’t oversee more performances like these.
Cardiff moving closer to the Championship
The win came at a huge cost for Cardiff, as the gap to safety increased. They are now five points adrift of safety, with just seven games to go. Southampton won this weekend, as they claimed a 1-0 win against Brighton whilst Burnley won as well as they beat Wolves 2-0. Both of them were Cardiff’s major rivals, and their wins hurt the Bluebirds massively.
Cardiff’s upcoming schedule does not do them any favours as well, they are still to face Manchester City on Wednesday, Manchester United and Liverpool, which are three really tough fixtures. Title-chasing City and Liverpool are less likely to perform as Chelsea did although the Bluebirds are yet to play Burnley and Brighton, which are vital clashes, so they won’t be giving up just yet.
The fixtures and the gap makes for grim reading for Cardiff. Their destiny is not in their own hands, and they will have to rely on other teams doing them a favour. Cardiff were the favourites to go down when the season began, but they have put up a fight – sadly though, it might not be enough.
VAR cannot come soon enough to the Premier League
Chelsea’s equaliser was a blatant referee mistake as Azpilicueta was offside by some distance. Craig Pawson arguably also missed a red card, when he just booked Antonio Rudiger late in the game. Both the decisions could have been changed had Video Assistant Referee (VAR) been in play in the Premier League.
Neil Warnock echoed that feeling and vehemently – “The biggest and best league in the world but probably the worst officials at the minute,” he said. “What can I say about my lads? They were brilliant and it made for a great game. It kicks you in the teeth. I am deflated because we have worked hard for this game and felt we could win it. The equalising goal is the winning goal really, and if you can’t see across the line and see offside I don’t know why we are in the game.”
Cardiff owner Vincent Tan said also supported his manager in the complaints, “The goal was clearly offside. We should have had two penalties and a red card for them,” said Tan. VAR will be implemented next season, but ironically, Cardiff may not be able to experience the technology.
