Marcos Alonso has defended referee Paul Tierney’s decision to award Chelsea a second-half penalty as they scrapped to a 2-1 win over Newcastle.
Chelsea maintained their 100% record in the Premier League in a scrappy win over Newcastle, a game which relied on a dubiously awarded penalty as well as a late own goal in order to keep pace with early league leaders, Liverpool.
Chelsea had dominated the game throughout, with over 81% possession during the match, as the players continue to get to grips with Maurizio Sarri’s ‘Sarri-ball’ tactics, but were unable to find a breakthrough until the 76th minute Eden Hazard penalty, which had looked rather contentious with Fabian Schar winning the ball before taking Marcos Alonso down in the box.
A number of onlookers initially thought that the decision to award the penalty was wrong, but Blues defender Alonso has said that the referee made the right decision:
“I think I touched the ball and got in front of the opponent. It’s not that I felt the contact and went down, he made me,” Alsono told Sky Sports.
“It was a good win and the three points are massive for us.”
Alonso was also involved in the winning goal when his scuffed right-footed strike was inadvertently tucked into the back of his own net by Newcastle defender De Andre Yedlin.
“If the ball goes in the direction of the goal maybe it is mine,” Alonso added.
