Proving already to be one of the divisions surprise packages this season, Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side grabbed the spoils during highly anticipated matchup with fellow title chaser Manchester City this weekend.
Whilst the Citizens will be aggrieved they got nothing from a frantic 3-1 defeat, the side showed plenty of guts and determination as the outing at times boiled over into mayhem.
Both Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho saw red cards late on, with the Argentine receiving his marching orders for a poor tackle on David Luiz, his teammate following in tow for an altercation with Cesc Fabregas in the ensuing melee.
Not usually known for his trouble making tendencies, Aguero’s dismissal was his second of the season – his first coming after a nasty elbow to the head of Winston Reid back was seen by the adjudicators after a match against West Ham in August.
With that in mind, the FA have felt it necessary to deal the former Atletico striker a four match ban.
With a successful appeal deemed unlikely (an unsuccessful appeal would see Aguero dealt a further match ban), the 28-year old is set to miss matches against Leicester, Watford, Arsenal and Hull.
Speaking during his post match interview with the BBC, defender John Stones described his frustrations that Chelsea escaped without punishment.
Commenting;
City defender John Stones said the referee’s decision not to punish any Chelsea players was unfair.
“In those situations you go in there and back your team-mates up, both teams do that,”
“I don’t want to say too much and get in trouble for saying things but I think we have ended up on the bad side of what happened.
“I know Sergio’s tackle was in no way good, but what happened after – when a few of their boys came in – I didn’t think it was fairly balanced.”