Fabregas sees red in Blues victory
CESC FABREGAS was sent off against Liverpool today, dealing a blow in his attempt to cement a first-team place under Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, writes Simon Johnson in Pasadena. Fabregas was shown a straight red card by referee Baldomero Toledo after a late tackle on Ragnar Klavan in the 69th minute of Chelsea’s 1-0 victory. It was the Spain international’s first start of pre-season after being given time off following Euro 2016. Standard Sport understands Fabregas will now be banned for Chelsea’s next match, in the International Champions Cup against Real Madrid on Saturday. As the ICC is a pre-season tournament playe played around the world with a trophy at stake, normal rules overove suspensions for red cards were included, unlike in a normal friendly. It means FabregasFabre will have just two more matches
before the club’s opening League game to impress Conte.
Competition for places in midfield is intense because Conte favours a 4-2-4 system and new signing N’Golo Kante, who is set to join up with the squad by the weekend, is expected to be given one of the two berths in front of the back four.
Fabregas went into the Liverpool dressing room after the match to apologise for the challenge, yet still felt he was hard done by Toledo. The match official also showed six yellow cards — five of which were for Liverpool.
When asked if being sent off was the right decision, Fabregas said: “The way the ref was giving yellow cards, probably yes.
“But in the Premier League, you could probably get away with it. I got there late, he got a toe to the ball and then I was anxious to win the ball. It was a hard tackle, so I accept it and move on.
“But I do think the ref for them, and for us, was giving cards all over the place that’s why. He didn’t have the game under control but that’s what happens. At the end of the day it’s a friendly.”
Conte expressed regret for what happened. He said: “I am sorry for this. The player the same. No excuse. I am sorry for him and for the Liverpool player.
“Sometimes the fatigue, it can bring a bit of… to go too late in a situation. Fabregas is a good man and not a player to have this situation.”