CHELSEA fans raged “OK, it’s over” after discovering that Anthony Taylor will take charge of their Premier League opener against Manchester City.
Enzo Maresca will lead his side out at Stamford Bridge on Sunday before butting heads with former colleague Pep Guardiola.
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Big things are expected of the Italian after another summer splurge.
And Chelsea’s squad could get even bigger as they target the likes of Joao Felix and Victor Osimhen this week.
However, not even the arrival of the world’s top attackers could convince Chelsea fans they have a shot at victory this weekend.
That’s because old foe Taylor was confirmed as the referee for the game following a string of controversies in past seasons.
Taylor, who hails from Wythenshawe in Manchester, has been on the receiving end of Blues supporters’ wrath for several major decisions.
In the 2020 FA Cup final, Taylor was accused of harshly sending off Mateo Kovacic before Chelsea went on to lose against Arsenal.
The following year, Reece James saw red for a debatable handball in a league draw with Liverpool.
And in 2022, Taylor and VAR famously ignored Cristian Romero’s hair-pull on Marc Cucurella in Tottenham’s penalty area.
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The game ended 2-2, with Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte sent off for a dramatic post-whistle clash.
And Chelsea fans aren’t holding their breath ahead of another crunch fixture.
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One said: “OK, it’s over, let’s move on to the next match.”
Another declared: “Just what we needed against Man City.”
One noted: “There goes the last bit of hope I had for this game.”
Another added: “How does this keep happening?”
History certainly hasn’t been kind to Chelsea in recent fixtures against Man City.
The Blues are yet to win a single fixture in any competition following their Champions League final win in 2021.
City have won seven of the last nine encounters, including the most recent FA Cup semi-final clash.
And after Mauricio Pochettino secured draws in both of last season’s league games, Maresca will be hoping to achieve at least share the points on Sunday.
