Mark Clattenburg suggested that Tottenham defender Destiny Udogie was “lucky” to have avoided a direct red card for his tackle on Raheem Sterling.
Spurs suffered their first defeat in the Premier League this season as they lost 4-1 against Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night.
Cristian Romero and Udogie were both sent off during the game. Udogie picked up two yellow cards, but Clatterburg feels that the left-back was lucky to have stayed on the pitch in the first half.
He made a wild challenge on Sterling in the first half and the Italy international left Michael Oliver with no option when he dived in on the same player early in the second half.
“Wrong decision. Destiny Udogie was lucky for two reasons. One, because Raheem Sterling pulled his leg away to prevent a serious injury. Two, because Brooks did not tell Oliver that this challenge was worthy of a red. Udogie was airborne, leading with two feet, with studs showing. It is precisely this type of challenge which needs outlawing from football,” wrote Clatterburg for the Daily Mail (7 November, page 69).
Spurs need to bounce back
It was a chaotic game where five goals were disallowed. Spurs started brilliantly but they lost composure at the back. The likes of Romero and Destiny made reckless and unnecessary challenges as well, and the home side had to pay the price as a result.
Also, after losing both players, Postecoglou kept on playing the high line and it allowed Chelsea attackers to score freely. Nicolas Jackson scored a hat-trick and one has every right to question whether that was the right approach.
Postecoglou will be worried by the injuries to James Maddison and Micky van de Ven as well, both are likely to be absent for a while.
