Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher put forward his verdict on two separate moments from Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford.
Manchester United and Chelsea saw out the second half of Saturday’s Premier League tie with 10 men each after the red cards for Robert Sanchez and Casemiro.
Robert Sanchez was the first to leave the Old Trafford pitch out of the aforementioned duo after the Chelsea star lasted only five minutes against United.
The 27-year-old Spanish shot-stopper mistimed his challenge outside of the Chelsea box and brought down United signing Bryan Mbeumo in a clear goalscoring chance.
Casemiro, on the other hand, played deep into injury time in the first half before Premier League referee Peter Bankes booked him for the second time in the match.
Dermot Gallagher asked about Chelsea’s red card against Man Utd in the Premier League match at Old Trafford
Robert Sanchez was left helpless early in the first half at Old Trafford after Benjamin Sesko flicked on a header and Bryan Mbeumo charged into the Chelsea half.
Mbeumo was clean through and the Chelsea defence was left scrambling, with Sanchez wiping out the Manchester United star in his last-ditch challenge.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, Dermot Gallagher was straight to the point with his verdict and backed Peter Bankes’ decision to send Sanchez off in the match.
“There is no doubt it is a red card – when you see a goalkeeper come rushing out, for whatever reason, he just takes out Mbeumo and Peter Bankes gave a red card and no-one can argue it was a red card,” he said.
“A big, big decision four minutes in and he rose to it.”
Dermot Gallagher drops his two cents on the Man Utd vs Chelsea incident involving Noussair Mazraoui
Chelsea made an appeal to Bankes for a penalty after Noussair Mazraoui lunged in with a challenge from an awkward angle on forward Joao Pedro in the United box.
The Blues were denied a penalty in Saturday’s Premier League clash and Gallagher suggested that Bankes would have acted on “instinct” with his decision at the time.
“Referees do things by instinct – the ball changes direction because he [Mazraoui] gets the ball, the referee actually sees the ball change direction and he waves it away as it is not a penalty,” Gallagher explained.
Goals from Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro in the first half ensured that United sealed their 2-1 win over Chelsea and returned to winning ways in the league.
Ruben Amorim was able to see his United side weather a late scare at Old Trafford after defender Trevoh Chalobah scored a header for Chelsea in the 80th minute.
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