Alexis Sanchez on Tuesday night awarded a red card just 2 minutes after Inter Milan scored at Liverpool in the Champions League last 16 second legs.
The situation was controversial because the Chilean star made contact with the ball before touching Fabinho’s right ankle.
Referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz soon showed a second yellow card to Sanchez without consulting to VAR. The players on the Inter Milan side reacted fiercely to the decision of Miguel.
Earlier, Sanchez received his first yellow card for a kick on Thiago’s knee in the 45’+3 minute.
“Unfortunately, Alexis Sanchez was sent off. Liverpool were really shaken by Lautaro Martinez’s goal and I want to see what happens after that ,” Inter boss Simone Inzaghi said.
According to former Arsenal player Thierry Henry, the referee did not handle the situation correctly. Henry thinks Alexis Sanchez doesn’t have time to pull back.
“Sometimes the referee just looks through the book. What should Alexis Sanchez do in the situation? Alexis touches the ball and obviously his foot is going up because he kicks the ball away.” Henry said.
“He didn’t have time to pull back. That is impossible. If he makes contact with the ball first, it can’t be a yellow card,” he added.
Despite a pair of tremendous performances, Inzaghi’s dream ended at Anfield and the Nerazzurri boss reckons the damage was done long before their consolation victory on Merseyside.
“We hope that we don’t have to face Liverpool in every match. I’m proud of the team, we had a great match, but we didn’t get the rewards we wanted from our best moments.” Inzaghi said.
“I congratulated the team on their performance. we would have deserved more but what we showed tonight should bode well for what comes in the future.” he added.
