Christopher Nkunku was at the centre of a controversial moment during Chelsea’s 5-0 FA Cup win over Morecambe on Saturday.
Chelsea were expected to sweep aside the League Two club when they met at Stamford Bridge in the third round of the cup.
And they looked on track to do that early on when they were awarded a penalty in the 17th minute for a handball in the box, though Morecambe’s players were adamant the ball had rolled out of play before Joao Felix kicked it into Yann Songo’o.
With regular penalty taker Cole Palmer on the bench, Nkunku stepped up to the spot but was denied by Harry Burgoyne, who then did brilliantly to save the Frenchman’s rebound.
The Shrimps keeper then made another incredible save to deny Felix, earning huge praise from those watching.
But some were left unhappy, as replays showed that Burgoyne had come off his line to save Nkunku’s penalty but as there is no VAR for this round of the FA Cup, the spot-kick could not be retaken.
‘An absolutely stunning save,’ former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis observed on Final Score.
‘Unfortunately, the goalkeeper Harry Burgoyne does come off his line. If VAR had been there, there would have been a retake of that penalty. But, there isn’t VAR and it’s a brilliant save for Morecambe.’
‘The Morecambe keeper was miles off his line for the penalty,’ Arsenal legend Paul Merson added on Sky Sports.
Chelsea fans were also unimpressed by the officiating but were also critical of Nkunku’s penalty effort, with @ClearlakeWon posting on Twitter: ‘Keeper wasn’t on the line… but bad pen.’
‘Morecambe goalkeeper was 5 miles off his line,’ @cfc_lennox quipped, while @TopFancfc added: ‘These refs need to know better. Lower league goalkeepers would likely not stay on the line.’
@MilaVIbezCFC said: ‘Nkunku doing everything he can to make Chelsea sell him,’ amid reports that the forward is unhappy with his lack of game time at Stamford Bridge.
Thankfully, Nkunku was able to redeem himself in the second-half when he scored the second goal of the game as the Blues ran out 5-0 winners.
Tosin Adarabioyo and Felix bagged braces to advance Chelsea to the fourth round and end their four-game win-less run.
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