Borussia Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke has accused referee Danny Makkelie of arrogance over his penalty call in the club's Champions League exit to Chelsea.
The Bundesliga side slipped out of Europe after failing to build on their 1-0 first-leg advantage at Stamford Bridge, with a 2-0 defeat on the night meaning a 2-1 aggregate loss to their Premier League hosts.
Chelsea's ultimate winner came from a Kai Havertz penalty, but only when Makkelie allowed the forward to retake it due to encroachment after he missed his first attempt.
Watzke however felt the Dutch referee was guilty of arrogant behaviour in his decision-making, and suggested he was too easily swayed from his gut decisions by a boisterous home atmosphere.
"You always had the bad feeling that he wanted to be the most important man on the pitch," he told SID.
"His gestures, his facial expressions, he really liked [to perform to the crowd].
"Instinct was a foreign word to him. We lost control of the game too early, and congratulations to Chelsea. They deserve to go through.
"But the decision to retake the penalty was very controversial and the original call itself was a 50-50 decision. There's no question about that at all."
Chelsea were originally awarded the penalty after VAR intervened over a handball offence from Dortmund defender Marius Wolf.
Havertz hit the right post with his first attempt, but Makkelie allowed him to retake it after replays showed players from both teams encroached into the box.
Watzke was far from the only Dortmund figure to express their discontent with the decision, with Jude Bellingham also voicing his frustration after the game.
Werder Bremen 0-0 Borussia Dortmund: Schlotterbeck sent off as BVB are held
Borussia Dortmund were held to a 0-0 draw at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Defender Nico Schlotterbeck was sent off for Dortmund in the second half and Nuri Sahin’s side ultimately had to settle for a point.
After an underwhelming start to the match, the visitors were more aggressive following the interval, with substitute Karim Adeyemi making an instant impact with an effort from more than 20 yards out. But Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer was in place to deny the forward.
Dortmund were reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute when centre-back Schlotterbeck received a second yellow card for sliding in on Bremen forward Justin Njinmah.
BVB still pushed for a winner despite their numerical disadvantage, but a solid Bremen defence withstood late pressure to secure a point at home.
Data Debrief: Defences on top
Neither side can claim they were hugely unfortunate not to have scored, with Dortmund’s expected goals (xG) total of 0.61 only coming in marginally ahead of the hosts (0.41).
BVB did have four shots on target, although all four came from the 58th minute onwards with two of them from substitutes in Adeyemi and Donyell Malen, while Bremen only tested Gregor Kobel – who now has two straight clean sheets – on one occasion.
It was Marvin Ducksch who had the hosts’ only shot on target in his 100th Bundesliga appearance, the first six of which came as a Dortmund player.
The result means Bremen end a run of four straight home defeats to Dortmund in Bundesliga play, although they have now gone nine such matches without a victory.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
