Zlatan Ibrahimovic: 'It felt like I had a lot of Chelsea babies around me'
Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has hit out at the reaction by Chelsea players prior to his sending off during the second leg of the Champions League round-of-16 tie at Stamford Bridge. The Swede was sent off after 31 minutes but a 10 men PSG rallied and took the game to extra time and held the Premier League leaders to a 2-2 draw to seal progress to the next stage on away goals.
Zlatan lunged into a challenge on midfielder Oscar around the half hour mark. Chelsea players surrounded the Dutch referee Bjorn Kupers before he brandished the red card to give the 33-year-old his marching orders.
Speaking about the incident, Zlatan said, “When I got the red card all the Chelsea players come around.
“It felt like I had a lot of babies around me.”
The PSG striker also expressed his discontent at the referee’s controversial call. He said, “I don't know if I have to get angry or start to laugh. For me when I saw the red card I was like 'the guy doesn't know what he's doing.”
Oscar might have feigned injury
Zlatan also suggested that Oscar might have feigned his injury to aggravate the situation.
He said, “I pulled out (of the tackle), because I saw him come in the tackle.
“I don't know if he was acting afterwards. Doesn't matter. We won the game, we went through and let's see what happens.”
Mourinho wants Zlatan red card to be overturned
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho stated that he hoped Zlatan’s red card could be overturned.
Mourinho said, “I spoke to him after the game and when he speaks with me he's always honest. He would tell me if it was a reason for a red card, and he was very disappointed so if that's the case, I hope they can minimise the mistake and let him play the quarter-final. If he did nothing wrong, he deserves that.”
David Luiz should be suspended, not Zlatan: Mourinho
Mourinho also expressed his disappointment at not being awarded a penalty following a trip on Diego Costa by David Luiz.
“But the other situations, it was a clear penalty on Diego Costa and, once more, I think it's a waste of time and money to have the officials on the side of the goal. If he cannot see a penalty 10 metres when it's completely clear, it's a waste of time and money.
“The David elbow I didn't see, I confess. But when UEFA give him the man of the match, I have to believe there's no elbow. Perhaps they cannot give us the penalty but maybe they can do what is fair and suspend David and take Ibra into the quarter-finals.”
However, Mourinho also criticised his team’s performance on the night, saying, “When a team cannot defend two corners a team doesn't deserve to win. We couldn't cope with the pressure. For them it was easy, two lines of four, counter-attack, waiting for the right moment. Mentally for them with 10 there is nothing to lose.”