Thiago Silva believes he should not have been sent off but admitted that his red card ultimately led to Saturday’s 5-2 defeat to West Brom and the end of Chelsea’s unbeaten run under Thomas Tuchel.
It was not the return the 36-year-old would have hoped for following his two-month absence due to injury.
He received his first yellow card just five minutes into the game and then his marching order just before the half-hour mark.
At that point, the Blues had almost complete control of the game and were leading by one goal, thanks to Christian Pulisic’s opener.
In the next fifteen minutes after the sending off, the 10-man Chelsea side conceded two goals, and then three more goals in the second half.
Silva had his say about the incident on social media after the game as he issued a rallying message to his Blues teammates ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Porto.
“Lessons need to be learned from difficult days so that the next day is the beginning of a new beginning,” the Brazil international wrote on his Instagram post.
“I believe it was not a [tackle worthy of a sending off].
“I haven’t seen the video yet, but the referee made his decision, and we can’t change what happened.
“I assume my responsibility for the expulsion, which unfortunately directly affected the result of the game.
“Now we have to join our forces because Wednesday it will be another battle.”