Solanke, Cucurella react to Levi Colwill after explosive outburst in Chelsea win
Levi Colwill caught the attention of Chelsea and Tottenham stars following an explosive Club World Cup victory over Benfica.
The 22-year-old had some choice words for referee Slavko Vincic during the Blues’ 4-1 win on Saturday, 28 June, especially after a two-hour delay during the game due to adverse weather conditions.
Reece James had fired his side into the lead, but after play restarted in the 86th minute, Angel Di Maria was given a stoppage-time chance to equalise from the penalty spot after Malo Gusto was controversially punished.
With the game sent to extra time, goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall helped seal their spot in the quarter-finals, but Colwill was far from pleased.
The centre-back, who was also yellow-carded during extra time, appeared to swear several times at the referee once the penalty was awarded, also calling him a “disgrace” [Daily Mail].
Levi Colwill blasts refereeing decisions after Chelsea win
Taking to Instagram (29 June), Colwill wrote: “Great team effort. Let’s push for more…” with the defender’s post gaining likes from teammate Cucurella and Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke.
Enzo Maresca’s side march forward at the Club World Cup
Football Insider verdict
Despite the frustrations, which Maresca openly spoke about to the media following the win over Benfica, the Italian will be happy about how his side have played so far.
While they have not dominated quite as much as Man City, who are the only team to win all games at the tournament so far, the Blues have both feet in the quarter-finals, and could seal a semi-final spot.
Nicolas Jackson has been another source of frustration for Chelsea, with Keith Hackett telling Maresca to send the striker home after another red card, but that is unlikely to happen with multiple games remaining.
The West London side will have the chance to see future addition Estavao up close in the next round, facing Palmeiras in the quarter-finals before facing one of: Inter Milan, Fluminense, Man City or Al Hilal.
There is every chance that Maresca leads the team to another piece of silverware, having won the Europa Conference League last season, but there remain a lot of challenges in the way.