Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager Cristian Stellini happy with explanation of overturned Hakim Ziyech red card

Cristian Stellini, who was in the dugout for Tottenham Hotspur in the absence of Antonio Conte, was happy with the referee’s explanation for overturning the red card for Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech.

Spurs welcomed the Blues home on Sunday (26 February) in the Premier League. Towards the end of the first half, Ziyech was given his marching orders by Stuart Atwell.

The Morocco international was involved in a scuffle with Emerson Royal. In an attempt to push the Brazil international, the Stamford Bridge side’s playmaker made contact with the full-back’s face.

However, later, VAR asked the official to have a look at the incident and he changed the red to a yellow. As a result, both teams went into the break with 11 players. Speaking to BBC Sport, the North London side’s assistant manager Stellini was not too bothered by it. The Italian was satisfied with the clarification of the events by the official.

“The referee was good and explained the situation to us. VAR needed time to see who the player was and then to check if it was violent or not so they took their time and make this decision.”

Atwell was a bit lenient for most of the game. The referee did not ward fouls for players from both sides going down after the slightest contact. In that sense, it was a bit refreshing. While Ziyech’s actions were over the line, it looked like a red card would have been a bit too much for it.

For most of the first half, we pressured Chelsea and managed to create some decent goalscoring situations. However, Tottenham were unable to find the back of the net.

However, immediately after the break, Oliver Skipp’s thundering volley beat Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Blues’ goal. It was the 22-year-old’s first goal for Spurs.

Subsequently, offensively we continued to look threatening. However, the North London side were also solid at the back, especially with Cristian Romero impressing with his aggressiveness.

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Then in the 82nd minute, Harry Kane sealed our victory in the derby. Hopefully, Tottenham will be able to build on the performance and cement their place in the top four.