Mark Hughes Hits Out at 'Clear Red Card' Not Given to Marcos Alonso in Shambolic Collapse

Southampton boss Mark Hughes was quick to stress that his side cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves after throwing away a two goal advantage late in the game against Chelsea, after admitting his disbelief over Marcos Alonso's challenge which should have received a red card.  

The Saints appeared likely to clinch a vital three points in the battle for safety after dominating a lacklustre Chelsea side following goals from Dusan Tadic and Jan Bednarek on either side of the interval.

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However, with just 20 minutes remaining the south coast side collapsed in a dizzying eight minute spell which saw Chelsea's Olivier Giroud and Eden Hazard steal an unlikely 3-2 victory to cement Southampton's place in the bottom three. 

The defeat was further marred by a challenge from Alonso on Shane Long which saw the defender rake his studs down the calf of the striker before half time - which went unpunished by referee Mike Dean much to Hughes' discontent.

Hughes told Sky Sports: "Shane's got a gash down the calf, having seen it again there's a clear red card.

"There's clear intent to hurt Shane, it was raked down the back of the calf. It's a dangerous tackle and could have broken his leg, in my view, and how the three officials who were near it all missed it was a mystery to me."

On his teams performance and the need to bounce back straight away, he added, via the Southern Daily Echo: "They've taken blows all year. They can't start feeling sorry for themselves now, it's gone beyond that.

“We've got to stick our chests out, get on with it, start being men and take responsibility. I thought they did that today, and against Arsenal. I think we've still got enough.

"Clearly we played really well today I thought. A great performance. Unfortunately, a period eight to 10 minutes where we've just gone under. We haven't been able to clear our heads after the first goal. 

“I think we deserved something out of both games. It is what it is. We've got to be better in the key moments in games. In the end they were clapped off. I don't think that's happened too often in recent weeks.”