The manager of Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino, said that stoppage-time goals disallowed for Axel Disasi in their tie with Aston Villa are a result of video technology “damaging” English football.
Disasi believed he had won it all when he headed in Benoit Badiashile’s cross in the 95th minute, but Pochettino’s team rallied from two goals down to draw and hurt Villa’s chances of finishing in the top four.
After an on-field review suggested by the video assistant referee (VAR), referee Craig Pawson determined that Badiashile had pushed a Villa defender before the cross.
At the final whistle, Chelsea’s players surrounded Pawson, furious, and Pochettino got into a heated argument with Villa defender Ezri Konsa.
What Pochettino said:
“They didn’t see a foul on the pitch and then VAR changed the decision of the referee,” Pochettino told BBC Match of the Day.
“For me that was a normal challenge. The decision was there and that’s it.
“For me it damaged a little bit the Premier League and English [football]. If we want to be the best league in the world it should be protecting the spectacle and the decision.
“It damaged myself, damaged my team, my players, my fans.”
Due to the lost points, Villa’s ambitions of finishing in the top four are no longer in their hands. Earlier in the game, John McGinn’s erroneous shot beat Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella and into the bottom corner.
The visitors countered effectively, as Senegal international Nicolas Jackson had a header against the base of the post after his attempt ended up offside by the video assistant referee.
After finding space on the left and sliding the ball into the near post via Trevoh Chalobah’s knees, Morgan Rogers increased the advantage for the home team.
After finding Villa in possession deep up the pitch, Chelsea managed to get back into the match thanks to a deft finish from Noni Madueke into the far corner.
Without producing many chances, the visitors pushed for an equalizer until Gallagher used his left foot to create a shooting opportunity and curled into the top corner from the outside of the area.
Before the goal was disallowed, Ollie Watkins had sliced a cutback over the crossbar and Cole Palmer had a one-on-one attempt stopped. Both teams had opportunities to win the game.
The team led by Unai Emery leads fifth-place Tottenham by seven points, but Ange Postecoglu’s team still has three games remaining, beginning with Sunday’s north London derby against Arsenal.
The fact that goalie Emi Martinez left the game at halftime after looking to be struggling with a thigh injury in the first half raised additional concerns for Villa, since any absence might hurt them ahead of their Europa Conference League semi-final this week.
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