Jorginho red-faced after midfielder's error leads to Arsenal goal
‘You never pass it back between your posts’: Jorginho left red-faced after his ball back to Kepa led to Arsenal’s winner… while Jamie Redknapp praises ref Andre Marriner for playing on when keeper could have been sent off for goalline save
- Jorginho was left red-faced after the Italian made a costly error against Arsenal
- The Chelsea midfielder miscued a pass leading to Emile Smith-Rowe’s goal
- It was an uncharacteristic error from Thomas Tuchel’s disciplined side
- Jamie Redknapp said players should never direct a pass between the posts
- He praised referee Andre Marriner for allowing play to continue after the error
Jorginho was left red-faced on Wednesday night after the Chelsea midfield maestro miscued a back pass to Kepa Arrizabalaga, leading to Arsenal’s opening goal at Stamford Bridge.
The Italian, 29, was selected by Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea sought to make it eight games without defeat as Mikel Arteta’s Gunners arrived in west London looking to finish the season with a flourish after a poor campaign.
However, the midfielder got it all wrong midway through the first half, misdirecting a pass to goalkeeper Kepa that was directed towards his own goal with the Spaniard some distance from the ball.
Jorginho was left red-faced on Wednesday as his poor pass led to Arsenal’s opening goal
The Chelsea midfielder’s back pass was aimed goalwards and Kepa just kept the ball out of net
Kepa scampered across to claw the ball away from goal but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang picked up the rebound before coolly finding Emile Smith-Rowe who made no mistake in finding the net.
It was an uncharacteristic error for Jorginho, who is renowned for his ability on the ball, and Jamie Redknapp reflected that the 29-year-old made the ‘unfortunate’ error of playing the ball between the posts.
‘It was one of those things, a mistake from a midfield player that is normally so good on the ball, so accomplished,’ he said on Sky Sports.
‘There is a rule when you pass it back you never pass it between the widths of the posts, he does that, they thought they got away with it.
However, Arsenal latched onto the mistake and scored through youngster Emile-Smith Rowe
Jorginho has long been a trusted ball-playing midfielder at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield
‘Aubameyang does great, plays it back to Smith-Rowe. He sort of scuffs it. They force the mistake to a certain extent but it is just one of those things. It is a slightly scuffed finish, he is just praying that one goes in off the post and it does.’
Technically, Kepa’s stopping of the ball rolling into the net meant that Jorginho had committed a back pass offence, and the Spaniard could have been in hot water for denying a goal scoring opportunity.
But referee Andre Marriner allowed play to resume and Arsenal went onto score thereafter.
‘We give refs a hard time but he did well there he let it breathe, let the game flow,’ Redknapp said in praise of Marriner’s decision to play the advantage for Arteta’s side.
Former Arsenal defender Ashley Cole outlined that Chelsea’s lack of ‘unforced errors’ under Thomas Tuchel was reason behind their impressive form, but Jorginho’s mistake was a rare calamity under the German coach.
Jamie Redknapp reflected that you ‘never’ pass the ball between the width of the goal posts
The Sky Sports pundit also praised referee Andre Marriner for allowing play to continue
And the Englishman says that Jorginho’s mistake was ‘one of those unfortunate things’ and suggested Kepa may not have been well positioned.
‘I highlighted it before, under Thomas Tuchel not too many unforced errors. It is one of those things,’ he said. ‘Arsenal press well, blocked the playing lines so they couldn’t play through but it is one of those unfortunate things.
‘Can you look at Kepa and say positionally is he in the right place? They [goalkeepers] are always willing and trying to show angles when you try to play out.
‘It is unfortunate, you trust him [Jorginho] in and around your own box because he has quality to find passes but it happens.’
Chelsea have been strong defensively under German coach Thomas Tuchel since his arrival
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