Anthony Taylor was right not to give Chelsea a penalty against Liverpool after Alejandro Garnacho went down under pressure from Dominik Szoboszlai, according to Gary Neville, who could not understand Enzo Maresca’s rage on the touchline. The Blues winger seemed to hurl himself to the turf after sensing contact from the Reds midfielder, with the incident not considered serious enough to warrant a spot-kick.
Chelsea manager Maresca received a yellow card for his complaints after both the referee and VAR determined the contact was insufficient to grant a penalty. And former Manchester United defender Neville believed the Italian boss’ objections were unjustified.
Neville said on Sky Sports’ commentary: “He’s got it absolutely spot on. There’s a little bit of a tussle but that’s definitely not a penalty. In fact, at the end he throws himself to the ground. He’s watching it. He sees exactly what happens.
“I know sometimes they get it wrong but he (Maresca) just needs to calm down, relax. I don’t know who is feeding him telling him it’s a penalty.”
The Premier League outlined their stance on the Match Centre account, stating: “The referee’s call of no penalty was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact from Szoboszlai on Garnacho deemed to be minimal.”
Former Chelsea star Pat Nevin reckons it would have been harsh to award a penalty against Liverpool.
However, if it had been given, he doesn’t think it would have been reversed either. Nevin commented: “From a distance I didn’t think it was anywhere close to a penalty kick. When you see it again with the replays and slow motion, surprise, surprise, there is a little shove on Garnacho’s back.
“Had he given it first time they wouldn’t have changed it. It seemed harsh to give a penalty kick for that.”
Chelsea managed to secure a one-goal lead by half-time, thanks to a spectacular strike from Moises Caicedo. But Cody Gakpo brought Liverpool level on 63 minutes from close range.