Chelsea boss reacts to controversial decision as Palace manager admits ‘mistake’

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·1 September 2024

Chelsea boss reacts to controversial decision as Palace manager admits ‘mistake’

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca believes Crystal Palace should have seen a man sent off during their 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Nicolas Jackson tapped the ball in following a through ball from Cole Palmer to give the Blues the lead, but the visitors hit back in the second half thanks to a splendid finish from Eberechi Eze.

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The stalemate ends a run of 13 straight defeats against Chelsea in all competitions for Palace, since Antonio Conte’s side went down 2-1 at Selhurst Park in 2017.

Maresca believes the end result could have been different if Will Hughes, who was booked early on, had received a second yellow card for barging into Palmer in the second half.

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“This kind of thing for sure changes the game. It was clear second yellow card but the referee thinks in different ways,” the Italian told Sky Sports.

“I feel a bit shame for the result but not the performance. The direction is the correct one. With the players arriving now we can even better.”

Palace manager Oliver Glasner was happy to see Hughes escape a red card, but did admit that it was an error on his part not to sub the midfielder off at the break.

“I don’t know if he was lucky but it was a very big mistake from myself,” the German told Sky Sports. “My assistant said at half time to take him off but I decided to keep him longer. I am really happy the referee didn’t destroy my Sunday.

“He was a little bit late but it was not a terrible foul. I think it was a good decision for the game because otherwise there would have been many yellow cards and we want to see 11v11.”

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