Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has admitted that the row he had with a fan during last Wednesday's 4-2 loss against Arsenal 'looked worse than it was'.
The Spaniard approached a fan and appeared to be pleading with him to support the team rather than complain as groans rang out around Stamford Bridge at full-time. Chelsea were second best throughout the majority of the game as tempers flared at the end of the contest.
Azpilicueta was in the thick of the action throughout the 90 minutes scoring the goal that got Chelsea back on level terms at 2-2, before hauling down Bukayo Saka in the box as the England winger wrapped up the three points from the penalty spot. He complained to the referee about the decision and was raging that Saka went down, but the foul was as clear as day. And Saka was dumbfounded by the defender's angry reaction.
It was the Gunners who took the lead on the night as Eddie Nketiah tapped home. Timo Werner equalised, before Emile Smith-Rowe's finish put the away side back into the lead. Nketiah added a second after Azpilicueta levelled and Saka's penalty sealed the win.
Ahead of Chelsea's trip to Manchester United on Thursday, Azpilicueta has reacted to the incident and whether he was right to go over and confront the supporter. He claimed that he gave the fan his captain's armband after the game as a matter of respect.
He told Sky Sports : "It looked worse than what it was. I agree with that because it was at the end of the game, I was angry with my performance, I was angry with the result, with the penalty and everything.
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"I spotted him in the crowd but nothing to do with him. It was an exchange of words that looked worse than what it was. We spoke clearly and he wanted more fight from the team. He was right and I expressed my view of that.
"We were having a moment of difficulty, we were having less people in the stadium and we needed to push everybody in the same direction. The other day after the game, I saw him again and I gave him the captain's armband. When there is respect, I am the first to look at images and I was really angry."
