Controversy has struck due to Timo Werner and Chelsea being denied a penalty after a shout against City which bared similarity to a foul that Manchester United were granted a spot-kick for days ago.
In the 11th minute of Sunday’s marquee matchup, N’Golo Kante snatched the ball off Rodri, with it knocking into Werner’s path on the edge of he box and the forward consequently spelling danger.
Just as Werner was skipping into the box, Rodri came across and knocked the forward over, with replays showing that the midfielder could’ve tripped the Chelsea star over.
The Blues did not receive a spot-kick and City scored an opener just minutes later through Ilkay Gundogan, before Phil Foden quickly doubled the lead.
This incident has now been compared to the one involving Paul Pogba and Douglas Luiz during Friday night’s meeting between United and Aston Villa, in which the Red Devils received a decisive penalty.
Rodri’s challenge on Werner actually shows much more contact between the two players than the coming together between Luiz and Pogba.
See More: Aston Villa ace pointed out referees ‘supporting’ Man United over 8 years before Pogba and Luiz penalty heartache
Pictures from Sky Sports and K+ PM HD.
It would be interesting to see what VAR would’ve made with a full review of this incident, Rodri’s challenge seemed to be right on the line – do you think this would’ve resulted in a free-kick if it was deemed a foul?
It seems like that if you’re ever unsure of what European division you’re watching, the lack of consistency from referees will remind you that it’s the English Premier League.