Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has apologised to referee Anthony Taylor after confronting the official moments after the final whistle following their thrilling 4-4 draw with Manchester City. Cole Palmer’s 94th-minute penalty snatched a point for the Blues after coming back from a goal down on three occasions, but a furious Pochettino walked onto the pitch shouting at Taylor after a controversial decision went against the Blues at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts were left incensed after Erling Haaland was awarded a penalty when Marc Cucurella was adjudged to have pulled him down inside the 18-yard box. Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot before VAR confirmed the decision, leaving Pochettino and Chelsea furious.
And the Argentinian wasted no time in entering the pitch after the full-time whistle, making his feelings clear to Taylor in no uncertains as he was seen wagging his finger and shouting in the direction of the officials.
Pochettino’s staff were forced to restrain him to ensure things did not spiral out of control and the Chelsea boss eventually calmed. After the game, the 51-year-old admitted he had some regret about letting his emotions get the better of him.
“I think maybe I crossed the limit because I was so emotional there on the touchline,” Pochettino told Sky Sports. “I want to apologise to everyone and the referee because [afterwards] then I realised [his reaction].
“I was really pleased with the game, and he [the referee] was trying to help. I wanted to encourage the players to keep moving, going forward, be brave, knowing that we face an amazing team.”
It remains to be seen whether Pochettino will face any retrospective action for his behaviour towards Taylor as emotions ran high on a memorable encounter that saw eight goals, two penalties and a 94th-minute winner. Erling Haaland scored twice with goals also coming from Manuel Akanji and Rodri for the visitors.
But Chelsea came from a goal down on three different occasions with Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer all getting on the scoresheet, with the latter snatching the late equaliser against his former club to settle the eight-goal thriller.
City coach Pep Guardiola claimed the game was a good advert for the Premier League and Pochettino agreed with the Catalan, praising his side for a committed performance.
“It was amazing that is why the Premier League is most unbelievable league in the world and everybody wants to be involved in an amazing game,” he said.
“It is difficult to talk as everyone wants to say how excited the game was. Man City is the best team in the world and Chelsea were brave tried to go for three points. I think it was an amazing evening.”
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