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Liam Rosenior believes Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty during their 4-1 win over Aston Villa on Wednesday night
Keith Hackett believes Jarred Gillett was right not to award Chelsea a penalty during the first half of Wednesday night's clash at Villa Park. Shortly after Douglas Luiz had put Aston Villa in front, Reece James was brought down by Ian Maatsen inside the box.
Despite contact, the referee waved away appeals for a spot-kick. The Video Assistant Referee, James Bell, and his assistant, Adrian Holmes, confirmed the on-field decision and did not recommend Gillett to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
Speaking to Football Insider, the former FIFA referee and ex-PGMOL chief accused the Blues captain of diving. Hackett said: "I support the referee’s call of no penalty kick.
"The forward, in my opinion, has manufactured the contact and was looking to deceive the referee. Having said no penalty kick, I was surprised that referee Jarred Gillett failed to yellow-card the Chelsea player."
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Liam Rosenior, however, believed that the Blues should have been awarded a penalty. The Chelsea boss said: "I don't understand how we don't get a penalty. The fact that we've won 4-1 doesn't change that.
"It's a clear penalty on Reece. It's another setback. For the players to perform in the manner that they did, with and without the ball, makes me a very proud manager this evening."
Despite the setback, Chelsea still managed to turn things around and seal three crucial points in the race for Champions League qualification. With Manchester United losing to Newcastle at St. James' Park, the west Londoners are now just three points off the top four.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Rosenior reflected on the victory at Villa Park. The 41-year-old said: "We could have kept a clean sheet. No, it's a really good evening and so far I haven't heard of any injury issues.
"I was very proud of them today. We've had a few kicks. We spoke about responding positively before the game. We had to end the game because, first and foremost, the first attack. They scored from a fantastic finish."
On the significance of the result, Rosenior said: "It's only significant if we back it up. We have to be consistent. We have a massive FA Cup game, then we've got a huge game in Paris, and then we've got another huge game against Newcastle.
"We just need to back it up and not look at the significance of the games. We just need to perform, and if we perform at that level, we're going to be in a good place."
Chelsea will now begin preparations for Saturday evening's clash against Wrexham in the FA Cup fifth round.
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