The 23-year-old Félix quite unexpectedly took the direction of London in the previous days, where he signed a loan contract with Chelsea there until the end of the season. For Blues coach Graham Potter, there was thus a chance to revive the attacking link and, above all, the whole club, which is currently only in the middle of the table and has scored only twenty-one times in 18 league matches. At the same time, the Portuguese jewel played a significant role in another failure.
In the second half of the duel against Fulham, he was rewarded for his premiership chance in the blue jersey with a hard slide into the defender David Coote, for which he earned a straight red card from the referee and weakened his team already in the 58th minute at 1:1. A very unfortunate premiere, which was also marked for the rest of the duel, in which Chelsea conceded for the second time and did not win a single point again.
While there are debates in football discussions about whether the awarding of the red card was too severe, the experts are clear. “There is no doubt at all that it was a red card. He played recklessly and in the last phase he didn’t even want to hide his leg from the opponent,” said former soccer player Lucy Ward.
“We all know it. We don’t succeed in processing, we lose the ball and we try to save it at all costs. Then it goes like this. It’s reckless, it got out of control and in short it was a clear red card,” the lanky forward Peter Crouch, the former terror of defenses, agreed.
Félix still deserved the praise. According to some, he was Chelsea’s best player until the brutal intervention. “Félix can’t complain. It’s a shame because he was excellent in the game,” said former Chelsea coach Jody Morris, who was joined by legendary defender Jamie Carragher. “Félix and Chelsea can’t be surprised at the red card, but it must be added that Joao was the best player up to that point on the field.”
Coach Potter also admitted that it was a red card intervention. “It was an intervention from the side, there was no malice. But I understand the exclusion, it means another blow for us. Until then I saw the quality on the pitch, so it’s a double disappointment for us,” he sighed. “It’s difficult. I feel for the fans, the players and everyone connected with the club. We will continue our work, there is no other solution. We will focus into the next game to try and get the three points.”
For the twenty-three-year-old Félix, it was the first ever red card in his career. Paradoxically, it came at the most inopportune time, as struggling Chelsea is going through an unprecedentedly gloomy period and continues to be plagued by a large number of players, which currently number around ten players.
