‘Christensen saw Kepa in goal and panicked’ – Chelsea pair slated for disastrous mistakes against Liverpool

Chelsea pair Andreas Christensen and Kepa Arrizabalaga were heavily criticised for a pair of costly errors against Liverpool on Sunday.

Christensen put his side in serious trouble with a red card just before half-time before under-fire goalkeeper Kepa gifted Sadio Mane a goal with a disastrous pass in the second half. 

With the match scoreless as half-time neared, Jordan Henderson picked out Mane with a driven long ball and the forward found himself behind Chelsea’s defence.

As Kepa charged off his line, Christensen took matters into his own hands. 

The Danish defender took down Mane with a rugby tackle, putting his arms around the Senegal star and wrestling him to the ground before he reached the ball. 

Referee Paul Tierney originally showed Christensen a yellow card but then went to the monitor to check if the defender had denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

After a VAR check, Tierney changed the colour of Christensen’s card from yellow to red and Chelsea paid the price five minutes after the break when Mane headed the visitors into the lead.

There was plenty of reaction on social media to Christensen’s red card.

Chelsea’s afternoon went from bad to worse in the 54th minute when Kepa took a routine pass and played the ball directly to Mane’s feet, gifting the forward a second goal on the afternoon.

With Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy closing in on a move to Chelsea, there was plenty of speculation that the error-prone Kepa could be set for an indefinite spell on the bench.