"Obviously hasn't played football" - Rio Ferdinand rips into referee's decision to award crucial penalty to Chelsea against Dortmund
Football pundit Rio Ferdinand has slammed referee Danny Makkelie for his decision to award Chelsea a penalty in their 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA champions League.
The Blues were the beneficiaries of a spot-kick early into the second half as Makkelie penalised Marius Wolf for a handball after Ben Chilwell's cross had come off his arm.
Kai Havertz missed the penalty at first, but the Dutch referee asked for it to be retaken after Dortmund players had encroached the box and the German buried it the second time.
The penalty was retaken by Kai Havertz!!
Fair decision ?👀
#GTVSports #UCL https://t.co/KE5DFB6icp
Ferdinand, though, wasn't convinced it was a penalty in the first place, and mocked the match official by suggesting that he might have never played the sport himself.
Speaking on BT Sport, he said (via Daily Mail):
"He obviously hasn't played football. You can't get your hands out of the way there. We understand there are laws in the game but some of them are made to look ridiculous.
"They're trying to take every element of positivity for a defender away. The rules give the attackers the full advantage."
Havertz smashed his original effort against the bar in what looked like a big opportunity missed but was handed a repreive when the referee asked him to retake it.
This time around, the German made no mistake, placing his effort into the bottom corner of the net as Chelsea turned the tie around and eventually sealed their progress into the next round.
Chelsea getting back into their groove?
After winning just once in 11 games since the turn of the year, Chelsea have now won back-to-back games for the first time since October.
The Blues overcame Leeds United 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday (March 4) and saw off Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the Champions League last night.
Although neither of their performances were fully convincing - Chelsea only improved after the break against Leeds - while Dortmund held 61% possession against them at Stamford Bridge - which is a welcome improvement.
Chelsea win back-to-back games in all competitions for the FIRST time since October 😱
Graham Potter's side are finding their form 👏 https://t.co/LoBWHOi69x
Notably, they kept a clean sheet in both games.
Despite their massive outlay, the Londoners continued to go through the motions, but there are signs that things are finally changing for the better, and it couldn't have happened sooner.
With only 13 games left in their league season, Chelsea are fighting to secure European football and can expect a tough draw in Europe in the quarterfinals.
If they can build on this momentum, Graham Potter and Co. could salvage their otherwise underwhelming campaign.