Three decisions referee Slavko Vincic got wrong in Chelsea’s win vs Barcelona
Chelsea beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League on 25 November as Enzo Maresca revelled in another victory in Europe.
Prior to the match, Cole Palmer was still out with injury for Chelsea as Maresca continued to fill the void left by his absence.
In further team news, Tosin Adarabioyo was dropped to the bench despite his Burnley heroics, as the Italian looked to refresh his side.
Match official for the night Slavko Vincic was in charge of proceedings as Football Insider reviews the key decisions he got wrong at Stamford Bridge.
Trevoh Chalobah sweats over nearly handing Barcelona dubious penalty
In the 13th minute, Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah was left hot under the collar after nudging Fermin Lopez off the ball in the box.
A ball came into the box and the Spaniard sized up to shoot on the volley but was knocked off balance by the Englishman.
Whilst Vincic was quick to dismiss any remnants of a penalty, Hansi Flick would’ve felt aggrieved to not have a proper VAR review, especially considering Lopez was winding up to shoot on goal before he was pushed in the back.
Pedro Neto avoids yellow card for petulant kick out at Alex Balde
Just on the stroke of half-time in the 41st minute, Pedro Neto was seen battling with Pau Cubarsi down Chelsea’s right-hand side.
In frustration, the Portuguese shoved the defender and was clearly riled up as he hounded the Blaugrana to win back possession for the Blues.
The former Wolves man then chased after Alex Balde after he majestically spun away from his man and looked to drive up the pitch.
Neto went to tactically foul the Spaniard and cynically kicked his leg as he went past, an action which normally would’ve seen a yellow card if the left-back had gone down.
Marc Cucurella unfairly brandished with incorrect yellow card for Chelsea
The former Barcelona academy graduate had a excellent game at left-back and was instrumental in the Blues’ opener.
However, early in the second half, the Spain international received a bizarre yellow card when he was adjudged to have taken down Lamine Yamal on the halfway line.
Replays showed that in the 51st minute, Marc Cucurella clearly won the ball, with a follow through catching the winger but not causing any damage.
Vincic officiated the match very well in general, but let himself down with this poor decision.