Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham has called the replay of Chelsea’s penalty kick, which knocked his team out of the Champions League on Tuesday, a “joke”.
The round of 16 second leg at Stamford Bridge was well placed at 1-1 on aggregate with the Blues winning 1-0 on the night through a Raheem Sterling goal as Ben Chilwell’s cross hit the hand of Marius Wolf at the beginning of the second half.
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Referee Danny Makkelle was sent to the monitor by VAR officer Pol Van Boekel to review the incident and subsequently awarded a penalty, which Kai Havertz missed by hitting the post.
However, another VAR review found that several Dortmund players had invaded the penalty area before Havertz struck the ball, prompting Makkelle to order a replay, which the German international converted to send his team into the quarterfinals. final by an aggregate score of 2-1.
“I’m not sure what else he can do with his hand,” Bellingham said after the handball opening call match. “That in itself was disappointing and the fact that they had a repeat, I think is a joke.
“For every penalty, especially when you have such slow acceleration, there will be people encroaching on the box for a yard or so. He made the decision and we have to live with that.”
Asked to elaborate on the arbitration, Bellingham added: “I don’t want to get in trouble. I’ve paid them enough.”
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The result is a big boost for Chelsea head coach Graham Potter, whose team, which has now recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since October, sit 10th in the Premier League.
Potter endured criticism from a section of Chelsea fans, saying: “Inevitably, in life, you’re going to have bad times and good times. I don’t see any other way of looking at it. It’s how you react to the bad times, get a bit of perspective. and analyze them the right way Things are never bad forever, but sometimes it felt like that!
“My job is to help the team, help the players, prepare the team the best we can and support them. They have been suffering too. Nobody has enjoyed the run we’ve had. That’s why today was important for us. We wanted to progress, and We’ve done it, so we’re happy.”