Fans on social media were left to bemoan the effectiveness of the Video Assistant Referee and the calls of match official Daniele Orsato after Cesar Azpilicueta escaped punishment for an apparent foul on Yannick Carrasco in Tuesday night's Champions League encounter. The Blues' skipper impeded the run of the Belgian winger on the edge of his penalty area after a mistake of his almost was almost capitalized on by the attacker.
Prior to the host breaking the deadlock in the Round of 16 second leg tie, Atletico Madrid were almost gifted with the perfect opportunity to stage a comeback at Stamford Bridge. Inside the 24th minute, Azpilicueta, an an attempt to pass the ball back to his side's goalkeeper Edouardo Mendy, ended up under-hitting.
Yannick Carrasco, who was lurking right by side of the Spanish defender, swiftly raced towards the ball but was pulled up by the Chelsea defender before he could make contact with the ball. However, the match referee failed to award the forward a foul or a yellow card fo diving and neither did VAR signal him to review the incident to the anger and frustration of the Atletico players and bench. Shortly after, the host took the lead through Hakim Ziyech after following a quick counter-attacking move which featured Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
Watch the controversial incident below:
"Azpilicueta has pulled him, what's the ref going to do here!?"
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 17, 2021
Have Chelsea got away with one here?
Atletico Madrid could have had a first-half penalty at Stamford Bridge... pic.twitter.com/xGIkHC6SCk
