Noni Madueke felt there were no doubts that Eberechi Eze’s challenge on him was a penalty as Chelsea squeezed past Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park tonight.
Michael Olise had cancelled out Mykhailo Mudryk’s opener in west London just before the break.
The Eagles had 13 shots – five on target – but were left pointless after VAR ruled that Eberechi Eze had fouled Noni Madueke in the penalty area. Madueke stepped up from the spot to beat Dean Henderson and extend Palace’s winless run to eight matches.
Madueke, formerly on Palace’s books as a youngster, told Amazon Prime: “It was a difficult game, as every game in the Premier League is. Credit to Crystal Palace – they played some good stuff.
“They were difficult to break down at times. The crowd were great. The atmosphere was rocking and they got us through it.
“Of course – it was a stonewall pen. I knew it would be given. I tried to stay on the ground as long as possible. It got given in the end. I was really happy about it, of course.
“I scored one earlier in the cup (against AFC Wimbledon). I’m confident with pens, with my technique and I thought it was fitting that I took it, because I won it.”
Palace manager Roy Hodgson was asked about his players reaction at the start of the second half. He said: “The reaction was there from the start. The first 15-20 minutes of the game we swarmed over Chelsea in their half of the field. There was no need for pure reactions.
Picture : Keith Gillard
“We were 1-1 at half time and we felt we had done reasonably well. We could certainly do better because we had started the game so well and allowed them to get back into it, to some extent.
“We started the second half like we started the first half. As far as I’m concerned we pinned them back and created chances. We can consider ourselves very unfortunate to lose to a goal – a penalty – once again by the second referee and not the first referee.
“We have to accept these days as coaches that there are two referees. The one on the field who doesn’t have so much to say as the one sitting in the studio.”
Asked how much of a concern it was that Palace are just above the Premier League relegation zone, Hodgson said: “Of course it is a concern. It’s always a concern when you’re not winning matches and we’re not winning matches at the moment.
“Of course it is a concern. But it would be even more of a concern if I thought the team was playing poorly or I didn’t think the players were working as hard as they are and weren’t showing the spirit they were showing. It would be much more of a concern.
“And let’s not forget our last four games have been at home to Liverpool, away to Manchester City, at home to Brighton and away to Chelsea – so we’re not exactly playing the teams in the area where we are in the league. So once again you are trying to use or hurt me with a statistic. Of course it hurts to be near the bottom of the table – it does – but it is a statistic that would hurt me if we were at the bottom of the table after 38 games.
“But being near the bottom, and we’ve still got about six points I think from the relegation zone. Being in that position where we are now, with 19 games to go – that doesn’t hurt me anywhere near as much it you perhaps are trying to suggest it should.
“I’ve always had optimism. There is no doubt in my mind that the quality of players we have got, the team we have got and the way the lads work – the capacity they have to create problems and make life difficult for even the best teams in the league – gives me great confidence that as the league moves on we will move on with it and start moving up the table.
“At this moment in time the statistics show we are near the bottom and the middle of the table – which is really the least we want to be, we’ve got to keep working.
“Results decide everything. If you were doing this interview after we’d drawn 1-1 with Chelsea then you’d be saying very, very different things to what you are saying because we have lost two goals to one. We lost two goals to one because there was a controversial penalty six or seven minutes to go in the game at a moment, really, when I thought we were looking every bit as much likely to score the winning goal as Chelsea were.”
Hodgson appeared to bridle at an early question about how much of a worry it was that Chelsea were able to carve his team open “quite easily”.
“I think that is very unfair,” said the Eagles chief. “How often did we carve their defence open? I’m not just accepting that the carving of defences was purely Chelsea. I thought we had equally as many chances, if not more chances, than they did.
“The equalising goal came at the right time, of course, but the second half we took the game to Chelsea for the bulk of the tie and I’m really, really pleased with the way the team played.”
PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD
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