The Blackburn Rovers manager gives his assessment of the penalty call and Chelsea’s loss.

Blackburn Rovers boss delivers penalty verdict at Chelsea

Jon Dahl Tomasson admitted that the big moments didn’t go for Blackburn Rovers at Chelsea after being denied a penalty in the first half.

Rovers were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge with goals from Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling knocking them out of the Carabao Cup.

Blackburn felt they should’ve had a penalty before the break, with the score at 1-0, as Callum Brittain’s cross hit the arm of Conor Gallagher. Referee Tim Robinson waved away the appeals with no VAR in use to review the decision.

Tomasson felt that Rovers could have been awarded a spot-kick but equally conceded that Chelsea were the better side. He reflected on a positive learning experience for his young players, who he feels will benefit from the opportunity to play against top-level opposition.

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“We are disappointed with the result, even against a good Chelsea side, we are disappointed to be out of the cup,” Tomasson said. “We knew before the game that it would be an enormous task for this young squad.

“I felt we dealt quite well with it. We stayed in the game for a long time, especially in the first half. There were moments where we looked dangerous but we lacked with our decision-making.

“The big moment is with the penalty in the first half. Goals change games, decisions change games. Then just at the beginning of the second half, we had perhaps the biggest chance of the whole game where we could have scored.

“At the end of the day, Chelsea were much better than we were. It was a tough challenge but I think our fans can be proud of this young Rovers team, playing against a top team in Europe.

“I think the boys will learn a lot from this game. When you play at this level, you have to make quick decisions, the intensity is high and the decision-making has to be right.

“We had some great attacks on the ball and we’ll learn about that. Then about the defending and what costs goal. I am sure we will learn as a group and learn a lot from this game. All goals are mistakes, football is like that.”