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Maurizio Sarri named a surprise starting eleven by dropping the likes of Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante on the bench. Fans were equally angry to learn that Callum Hudson-Odoi was not starting for the Blues too. With the bench looking stronger than the starting team, Chelsea failed to score in the first half.
After the break, the Bluebirds opened the deadlock just a minute later. The home side deservedly had the lead first after Chelsea failed to capitalise on their chances. Thereafter, Chelsea switched up their gears and it was almost one-way traffic throughout the second-half. The Blues came closest to scoring in the 83rd minute of the match and the resulting corner proved to be the turning point for Sarri's side.
Returning from an offside position before the ball was released, Cesar Azpilicueta equalised for his side with ease. The linesman probably did not realise Azpiliecueta was standing in an offside position and therefore, allowed the referee to award the goal to the Blues. It was a horrific call from the linesman and with VAR soon to be introduced, similar incidents should be prevented from next season.
Moments after the restart, Antonio Rudiger got away with an extremely lucky challenge. When the defender was expected to see red for the foul that he had committed during Cardiff's counterattack, Craig Pawson pulled out just a yellow card. It came as a relief for Sarri and his team as they narrowly avoided being a man down at this crucial stage of the match. However, for Neil Warnock and his side, they were furious with the decision. The Cardiff City manager was filmed shouting and arguing with Sarri, with the former clearly unhappy with the refereeing that has left his side at a disadvantage.
Hoping that they could get away with at least a point with just a few minutes left on the clock, Ruben Loftus-Cheek condemned Cardiff to a 1-2 defeat after a brilliant header in injury time. From a side looking to secure three points, their hopes vanished within 10 minutes. Chelsea are now just one point away from third-placed Tottenham who have yet to play whilst Cardiff City might face relegation soon. Fans are heavily criticising the decisions made against Cardiff today and here is a look at some of them.
