Eberechi Eze thought he had given Crystal Palace the lead against Chelsea with a stunning free-kick at Stamford Bridge only for VAR to intervene to rule the goal out
Eberechi Eze's freekick was thrashed past Sanchez, only to be ruled out.
Eberechi Eze's freekick was thrashed past Sanchez, only to be ruled out.
Eberechi Eze's freekick was thrashed past Sanchez, only to be ruled out.
(
Image: Sky Sports)
Crystal Palace were left furious after seeing Eberechi Eze's wonder goal ruled out at Stamford Bridge. The in-demand winger thought he had given the Eagles the lead with a stunning free-kick.
But referee Darren England was sent to the monitor and ruled out the strike. In a landmark moment, he explained why the goal was chalked off - due to Palace defender Marc Guehi encroaching on Chelsea's defensive wall in the build-up to the goal.
After rewatching the footage, official England said: “After review, away number six [Guehi] is less than one metre away from the wall as the shot is taken. Therefore, it's an indirect free kick and a disallowed goal”.
Bernardo Cueva, Chelsea's set-piece coach, immediately spotted the infringement and was spotted arguing with the fourth official Michael Salisbury at Stamford Bride. But he was one of few appearing to agree with the decision.
"There are times when you ask in football where you ask if something is right or wrong," said Chris Sutton on . "And that just seems mightily, mightily harsh."
Meanwhile, ex-Chelsea man Steve Sidwell added: "How many times have we seen that in the past where there's blocking? If that is the precedent set on the opening weekend it has to stay for the season."
The goal would have represented a memorable moment for Eze, who appears to be on the verge of a move away from Palace. have been strongly linked with a swoop for the winger and want to pay around £60m for his services.
Eze was expected to be sidelined for the trip to West London but was surprisingly named in the starting XI vs .
Palace are next back in action on Thursday as they tackle Fredrikstad FK in the first-leg of their Europa Conference League opener before next weekend's clash with . Meanwhile, Chelsea's next outing pits them against London rivals on Friday evening.
There will be more to follow on this breaking news story and will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible.
Follow us on , , , , or visit homepage.