Neville calls Rogers challenge 'ludicrous' as 10-man Chelsea fall 2-0 to Tottenham

Chelsea lost 2-0 to Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, with Gary Neville insisting the result could have been even more damaging had referee Chris Kavanagh shown Morgan Rogers a red card for a late foul on Conor Gallagher.

Kavanagh issued Rogers a yellow card in added time for bringing down Gallagher, but Neville, on commentary duty, was unequivocal in his assessment. “I think that’s a red. I do. He’s absolutely wellied him with no intent. That’s ludicrous from Rogers,” he said. Neville also called on Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso to reassert his authority, adding: “They have lost it. Xabi Alonso needs to get them off.”

The afternoon had already unravelled badly for the hosts before that flashpoint. Goalkeeper Mike Penders punched the ball into his own net to hand Spurs the lead, and Mathys Tel doubled the advantage with a strike from distance to seal a result that gave Tottenham their first win at Stamford Bridge since 2018.

In between the two goals, Cole Palmer was dismissed after collecting a second yellow card — though Neville suggested the midfielder was fortunate not to have been sent off with a straight red for his first booking. Palmer barged into Mateus Fernandes as the Spurs player attempted to get up from the ground, sparking a 14-man brawl that also resulted in cautions for Gallagher, Micky van de Ven and Fernandes.

“Palmer’s reaction was silly. He’s asking for trouble, that’s not great,” Neville said. “I think that could be a red. Into the chest you’ll get away with it but Fernandes is on the ground. He’s got no way to defend himself. It’s a stupid thing to do.”

Alonso, speaking after the match, accepted that emotional discipline remains a work in progress for his squad and confirmed he would address Palmer’s dismissal privately with the player. “Yes we need to work and we need to improve on that,” the Chelsea head coach said. “I think we spoke yesterday about those things and to know that in those situations that one first yellow card can be decisive as we have seen, it is a process of the maturity of the team and of the individual players as well. We think [up until] now we haven’t received any red card and we need to continue that way because we need to have this maturity.”