The Sky Sports duo were in disagreement
Jamie Carragher and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink disagreed over Sadio Mane not being sent off for his early elbow on César Azpilicueta during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Chelsea.
The Senegalese international was shown a yellow card after elbowing Azpilicueta in the face inside six seconds, with the duo competing for the ball after a long pass straight from kick-off.
Chelsea were adamant that Mane should’ve been sent off for the incident, but referee Anthony Taylor decided against it and showed the Liverpool man a yellow card.
It was Mane who opened the scoring in the ninth minute, before Mohamed Salah made it 2-0 when he calmly slotted past Edouard Mendy after a spectacular pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Chelsea pulled a goal back in the 42nd minute when Mateo Kovačić scored a wonderful volley, with Christian Pulisic making it 2-2 minutes later when he smashed his strike past Caoimhin Kelleher.
The decision not to send Mane off has sparked debate amongst many people, and Sky Sports pundits Carragher and Hasselbaink in disagreement about the decision.
Carra 🗣 "Worse than a yellow but not quite a red."
Jimmy 🗣 "Are you serious? Have you got your red hat on?"@jf9hasselbaink can't believe @Carra23 didn't see Sadio Mane's incident as a red card pic.twitter.com/PSMe9uI4Az
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 2, 2022
‘That definitely wasn’t a red card,’ says Hasselbaink
Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Carragher said: “It’s worse than a yellow, but I don’t think it’s quite a red.”
Hasselbaink responded: “Are you serious? Have you got your red hat on or just your football hat?”
The ex-Liverpool man fired back, replying: “Well, hang on, there was another VAR check on Mason Mount, that wasn’t a red card either.”
However, Hasselbaink, who scored 127 Premier League goals, insisted that the former Southampton man should’ve been shown a red card.
He added: “That definitely wasn’t a red card, but that [Mane’s] was a red card, forget about six seconds.”
Premier League leaders Manchester City benefitted from the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, now boasting a 10-point lead over Chelsea in second position, and an 11-point lead over Liverpool in third.
Related links:
- Cesar Azpilicueta insists Sadio Mane should have been sent-off for early elbow
- Sadio Mane somehow escaped red card just 15 seconds into Chelsea game
- Romelu Lukaku ‘texts former teammate’ with cryptic update on his Chelsea future
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