Sadio Mane could very easily have received the Premier League’s quickest ever red card as his arm met the face of Cesar Azpilicueta, after six Stamford Bridge seconds.
Speaking exclusively with Empire of the Kop, Stan Collymore shared his thoughts on the incident that saw our 29-year-old forward avoid an early dismissal from a top-of-the-table encounter.
The 50-year-old said: “It’s not always about the intent it’s about have you fouled someone.
“On another day, another referee might have seen that as a straight red … if he’d have been sent off I wouldn’t have complained either”.
Our Senegalese forward was possibly saved by the fact that the incident came so early on in the game and that it was his forearm and not elbow, that met the face of the Chelsea captain.
It would have been a massive upset to see our No.10 removed so early in the game, particularity ahead of his month-long absence with AFCON but you can understand the upset from the West Londoners.
You can watch Collymore’s comments via @empireofthekop:
🗣️"It's not always about the intent it's about have you fouled someone."@StanCollymore on whether Sadio Mane should have been sent off at the start of #LFC's clash with Chelsea 🟥 pic.twitter.com/OsVJsT4ohU
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) January 2, 2022
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