João Felix (24, Chelsea), dubbed the ‘second Ronaldo’, was sent off in a shocking match on the English stage. When Lee Chung-yong (35, Ulsan Hyundai) was playing in England in the past, it was reminiscent of Tom Miller (33)’s rough foul that he made a murder tackle.

Chelsea lost 1-2 in an away game in the 7th round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2022-23 season against Fulham held at Craven Cottage in London, England on the 13th (Korean time).

Chelsea, who lost that day, marked 7 wins, 4 draws and 7 losses (25 points) this season, and placed 10th in the league. The gap between them and Arsenal (44 points) widened to 19 points. I was put in a position where I had to compete in the middle ranks, not the top ranks. On the other hand, Fulham rose to 6th place with 9 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses (31 points).

It was a match that attracted attention as Felix’s EPL debut. Felix made his professional debut in 2018 when he joined SL Benfica. A Portuguese national, he is being evaluated for his outstanding talent to the extent that he is called the second Ronaldo.

After playing for one season at Benfica, he wore an Atletico Madrid (AT Madrid) uniform in the summer of 2019 with a transfer fee of 113 million pounds (about 173 billion won). And this time, Chelsea paid AT Madrid 10 million euros (approximately 13.5 billion won) to enlist Felix for six months.온라인바카라

But was it because he was full of enthusiasm in his debut match? Felix bowed his head as he was sent off. It was the 13th minute of the second half when both teams were tied 1-1.

Felix tried to trap the ball near the half line, but it was a bit far from his body. The moment the ball headed towards Fulham defender Kenny Tete, Felix made a deep tackle on the ball. It was such a dangerous tackle that even at a glance, the legs were lifted high.

It was a scene that reminded me of Tom Miller’s tackle that hurt Lee Chung-yong in the past. Tom Miller made a murder tackle during a friendly against Bolton, where Lee Chung-yong was a member of Newport County, in July 2011. Lee Chung-yong was forced to leave the field for a while after suffering a serious injury, including a fractured shin from this tackle.

Fortunately, Felix’s tackle did not hurt Tete. Immediately after the tackle, a fierce protest from Fulham players followed. They were colleagues who intuitively felt that it was a dangerous tackle even from the point of view of the same player. In the end, the referee immediately pulled out a red card on the spot.

After the match, WhoScored.com, a European football statistics outlet, gave Felix a poor rating of 6.2 points. According to British media 90min, after the match, Chelsea manager Graham Porter readily admitted the foul. Director Porter said, “It was a tackle by an attacker. There was no malice,” but he responded in agreement, saying, “I understand the sending off action.” He then expressed his regret, saying, “I was able to confirm his ability,” and then he said, “So the disappointment is doubled.”

Felix was handed a three-game suspension for direct sending off. In many ways, it was a debut match that only left scars on both the team and the individual.