Tottenham defender Destiny Udogie was “lucky” to avoid a direct red card for his tackle on Raheem Sterling, according to Mark Clattenburg.
Spurs suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season on Monday night, falling 4-1 to Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
During the game, Cristian Romero and Udogie were both sent off. Clatterburg believes Udogie was fortunate to have stayed on the pitch in the first half despite receiving two yellow cards.
He made a wild challenge on Sterling in the first half, and when he dived in on the same player early in the second half, he left Michael Oliver with no choice.
“Wrong choice. Destiny Udogie was fortunate in two ways. One, because Raheem Sterling drew his leg away from a potentially serious injury. Two, because Brooks failed to inform Oliver that this challenge merited a red card. Udogie was in the air, leading with two feet, studs visible. “It is precisely this type of challenge that needs to be prohibited in football,” Clatterburg wrote for the Daily Mail (7 November, page 69).
Spurs must recover.
Five goals were disallowed in a frantic game. Spurs started brightly but fell apart at the back. Romero and Destiny, for example, made reckless and unnecessary challenges, and the home team paid the price.
Also, even after losing both players, Postecoglou maintained the high line, allowing Chelsea’s attackers to score freely. Nicolas Jackson scored a hat-trick, and one has to wonder if that was the right approach.
Postecoglou will be concerned about the injuries to James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, both of whom are expected to be out for some time.
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