Chelsea’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth set a new record for the most yellow cards in a Premier League match.
A total of FOURTEEN yellow cards were dished out by referee Anthony Taylor and that doesn’t count ones shown to the coaching staff including managers Enzo Maresca and Andoni Iraola.
Eight Chelsea players were booked including Robert Sanchez for giving away a penalty which he would go onto save – with a little help from Cole Palmer.
That save proved to be crucial, with Christopher Nkunku scoring the winner in the 86th minute after being set up by player of the match Jadon Sancho – who was also booked.
The previous record for the most yellow cards in a Premier League game was 12, set in Wolves 1-1 draw with Newcastle in 2010 and then matched in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham in 2016.
But Saturday night’s clash at the Vitality Stadium was not a violent or ugly match, far removed from the infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’ against Spurs.
Many of the bookings seemed to be for dissent, though Maresca didn’t seem to mind one bit that his side had played a part in an unfortunate record-breaking match.
‘It’s not a problem this amount of yellow cards. It is what it is,’ the Blues boss told Sky Sports.
‘I complained about a foul on Wesley Fofana which for me was quite clear but it can happen. Eight yellow cards probably because these sort of games are about duels and fight and this can happen.
The 14 yellow cards in Bournemouth vs Chelsea
Bournemouth:
Marcos Senesi
Adam Smith
Ryan Christie
Lewis Cook
Justin Kluivert
Antoine Semenyo
Chelsea:
Robert Sanchez
Marc Cucurella
Levi Colwill
Wesley Fofana
Renato Veiga
Nicolas Jackson
Joao Felix
Jadon Sancho
‘Sometimes the game demands the way you have to behave.’
Iraola seemed to take a different view but refused to go into detail, though he did say he did not think it was an ‘aggressive or violent football match’.
The Cherries manager said: ‘I will not talk about the referee. I have been talking and it is not working so I have decide now I will try the opposite and see what happens.’