Chelsea suffered a 2-0 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in Matchday 8 of the Premier League, during which Cole Palmer was sent off for two yellow cards. Following the match, Manchester United legend Gary Neville criticized the player's loss of control in the Sky Sports studio and openly stated that Morgan Rogers should also have been shown a red card.
Neville commented: “Palmer completely lost his head. It had only been five minutes since he pushed Fernandes over, and then he goes and does that—it is downright stupid.”
“He caught him with his studs up, and he knew exactly what he was doing. That wasn't a genuine challenge; it was a nasty tackle and completely over the line. Palmer is an experienced player and should know how to keep his discipline.”
Furthermore, Neville believed Palmer was already lucky not to have received a straight red card for his initial shove on Fernandes: “Why would he do that? I genuinely can't understand why he was so rash.”
“Fernandes did commit a handball, which the referee subsequently cautioned him for, but Palmer's reaction was ridiculous and simply inviting trouble.”
Towards the end of the match, an agitated Rogers received a yellow card for wiping out Conor Gallagher, an incident Neville insisted warranted a straight red card that should have reduced Chelsea to nine men.
Neville remarked: "I think that's a red card, honestly. He didn't pull out of the challenge at all and just kicked straight through him. It was totally unnecessary, and that challenge from Rogers was absurd. The entire Chelsea team lost their heads, and Alonso needs to get them calmed down."
