Newcastle vs Chelsea ref watch: Three decisions Andy Madley got wrong
Newcastle and Chelsea shared the spoils with a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park on Saturday in one of the most entertaining games of the Premier League season so far.
Nick Woltemade gave Newcastle an early lead after Anthony Gordon had seen his shot saved by Robert Sanchez but the German striker was on hand to fire home.
He grabbed his second of the afternoon not long after as Gordon turned provider once more and Woltemade flicked his teasing cross in for 2-0.
Chelsea looked dead and buried, but an inventive Reece James free kick gave them hope just after the break, and Joao Pedro went on to level the scoreline with a breakaway strike in the 67th minute.
Madley was the man in the middle as it ended 2-2, and Football Insider have looked at three decisions that he did not get right in an all-action, full-blooded affair at St James’ Park.
Alejandro Garnacho lucky not to see red for tackle on Jacob Ramsey
Garnacho has built a bad reputation for himself in the Premier League, in terms of his poor conduct, and that continued on Tyneside as he was fortunate not to receive his marching orders.
Chelsea were on the back foot as he rushed into a tackle with Ramsey and caught him on the ankle with his studs-up in the 27th minute.
Madley only saw fit to show a yellow to the Argentine winger, but he could have been sent off if the referee had actually seen how he had made contact with the Newcastle midfielder.
Fabian Schar should have been booked for step on Cole Palmer
Newcastle dominated the opening stages, but did allow Chelsea to get back into the game just before Madley blew for half time.
The visitors did play some neat stuff at times before the break, and it was Palmer’s quick feet that should have seen Schar go into the book on the stroke of the interval as he clearly stood on his foot before play went on and Gordon nearly made it 3-0.
Schar did go on to see yellow in the second half for a very similar challenge on Joao Pedro as he caught him late from behind, but was arguably lucky that he didn’t see red as Madley should have booked him earlier.
Newcastle deserved a penalty for clumsy Trevoh Chalobah challenge on Gordon
Just as Chelsea were looking to get back into it at 2-1, they very easily could have been 3-1 down as Chalobah barged into Gordon inside the penalty area.
The Newcastle winger was running towards the byline to latch onto Murphy’s through ball, but was completely taken out by his compatriot with a really clumsy challenge that should have been punished by Madley.
Chalobah has been poor this season, and it certainly looked like a penalty, but because the referee did not point to the spot, it always seemed unlikely that VAR would intervene to urge him to reconsider.