Former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has hit out at officials who allowed Bruno Fernandes' equalising goal in the Manchester Derby to stand. The Portuguese international levelled for Manchester United after substitute Jack Grealish had put the visitors ahead early in the second half.
The game appeared to swing on the decision too, with Marcus Rashford scoring the winner minutes later after an unsettled City defence was breached once more. Arsenal fans won't be complaining, as the United win means they can stretch the lead at the top to eight points with a win over Tottenham in the North London Derby on Sunday.
Chelsea fans have less allegiance to either side in the derby but may have wished to see Pep Guardiola's men take victory in order to dampen the spirits of Arsenal, who are looking to secure a first league title in 20 years.
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The decision itself was highly controversial, with Fernandes firing past Ederson only for it to be initially flagged as offside due to alleged interference from Rashford in the build-up. Erik ten Hag's men reacted furiously to the decision and were soon celebrating the goal once VAR deemed Rashford to have not obstructed the proceedings from his offside position.
That is a highly debatable decision given his initial movement towards the ball and the reaction of Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake running back. Former referee Peter Walton thought that the decision to award the goal was correct but Cech disagreed, taking to Twitter to voice his displeasure.
He tweeted: "The first United goal just proved the people who make the rules don’t understand the game."
Cech is rarely public with his thoughts and has been on the down low since leaving his position as technical and performance advisor at Stamford Bridge last summer, so the outburst is surprising for a generally quiet and conservative man.
It is also perhaps even more pressing that this decision helps his former side - Cech moved from Chelsea to Arsenal in 2015 - and he is still voicing frustration at how the goal came about.
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