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Rather uncharacteristically, Enzo Maresca spent what seemed like the majority of Chelsea's defeat to Bayern Munich very animated. There could have been a few triggers at the Allianz Arena but there was one in particular that infuriated the Blues head coach.
In the build up to Cole Palmer's special goal, Joao Pedro was fouled by Jonathan Tah around the halfway line. Replays showed that Tah appeared to hit the Chelsea forward with part of his arm. The referee decided to show the Bayern defender a yellow card for the incident and Vincent Kompany made the decision to take him off at the half-time break.
Maresca was incensed with the referee’s decision and the Chelsea head coach’s protests saw him receive the same punishment as Tah. "For me, it should have been a red card, because there is not... I always said it was a red card when there is no intention to go for the ball just when the intention is to kick another player," Maresca said post-match.
"Why is it not a red card? The referee said it was not hard or aggressive enough. In any case you try. So to give you a red card, they need to see your blood or they need to see something.
"If the intention is to go there, it's a red card. So for me, there is not any doubt."
While Maresca was furious with the officiating, the Italian would have been more encouraged with how his players stood up in Bavaria. In a way, Chelsea showed they are able to compete with Europe's elite sides, with the Blues back in the Champions League for the first time in two-and-a-half years. Bayern did not have it easy on their own turf, with Chelsea causing the German champions multiple problems, particularly in the first-half.
There was, however, a harsh and brutal lesson for Chelsea to learn. You cannot make the mistakes they made at that level. Last season in the Conference League, it was okay to do so, but against the continent’s very best sides, it will come back to bite you. Especially when Harry Kane is playing.
They won’t be playing Bayern Munich away from home every game, granted, but the level of opposition has taken a spectacular rise. "We can learn a lot and build something special from this defeat," Maresca, looking on the bright side, said.
"To be honest, I think the players were already aware of this competition, of the difficulties. You cannot commit mistakes in the way we have done."
Maresca always tries to take positives from every situation at Chelsea, and these comments speaking volumes to the sort of character and personality he is.
On most evenings, Palmer would have been the star of the show. The 23-year-old was sensational for Chelsea, with a fantastic first-half finish into the top corner to half the deficit at the time. He thought he had his second late on, but VAR ruled it to be offside. Yet again, the Chelsea attacker showed he is the man for the big occasion, but Kane’s display on the other side meant Palmer came away on the losing side.
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The England captain needs no second invitation, so when Chelsea made a couple of defensive mistakes, he was never going to pass that opportunity by.
It was all smiles pre-match between the Chelsea players and Nicolas Jackson, who is on loan from the Blues but was eligible to play as per UEFA rules. The likes of Andrey Santos and Estevao Willian embraced the striker as the two sets of players headed back down the tunnel following the completion of the warm-ups. Jackson put his arm around the pair as the three caught up before kick-off.
There were no smiles, however, when in stoppage time, Santos went through the back of Jackson as the Senegal international threatened to lead a Bayern counter-attack. Good friends, yes, but that means very little when in the lion’s den.
A reunion with Jose Mourinho is on the cards next for Chelsea in the Champions League, with Benfica coming to Stamford Bridge at the end of the month. There is now added pressure on that game as the Blues look for their first points of the league phase, but before that, there are two Premier League games and a Carabao Cup tie to focus on.
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