Marcos Alonso delivers verdict on penalty call against Newcastle

Marcos Alonso continued his good start to the season with another telling contribution on Sunday afternoon, winning the penalty on 75 minutes for Hazard to convert. It was the second penalty awarded to Chelsea this season already, which is something new to the club, just like endless amounts of possession or talking about passing records.

The call seemed clear-cut enough — center back Fabian Schär getting a slight toe-contact on the ball but completely wiping out Alonso, almost lifting him off the ground with the sliding tackle from behind — but of course some did not agree.

Referee Paul Tierney did, and managed to make this one good call among a sea of bad ones in a rather terribly officiated games

Also agreeing is Marcos Alonso himself, as he told the Sky Sports cameras in his post-match interview.

“I think I touch the ball and then I get in front of the player, in between the player and the ball and when I’m going to pass to [Olivier] Giroud, I just went down because he make me [go] down.”

“I think [it was the] right decision. Good win. Three points are massive for us”

-Marcos Alonso; Source: Sky Sports via Metro

It was the reward Chelsea’s patient attempts at breaking down the Newcastle wall deserved.

We still needed a bit of luck to finish them off however, as Joselu’s equalizer (after a Yedlin elbow on Giroud was not called) looked to have ensured a share of the spoils. But then Alonso popped up again, though his winner will most likely go down as a Yedlin own goal.

Alonso will of course claim it to be his, as all good strikers would.

“If the ball goes in the direction of the goal maybe it is mine.”

-Marcos Alonso; Source: Sky Sports via BBC

Alonso may not go to the lengths of some of our rivals to claim the goal, but hopefully his continuing excellence on the scoresheet continues for a long while yet!