Hughes praises ‘outstanding’ Chelsea but bemoans goal decision

Mark Hughes praised Chelsea after their FA Cup semi-final victory over Southampton but insisted his side were wrongly denied a goal.

Goals from Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata gave the Blues a 2-0 in at Wembley, where Eden Hazard was outstanding.

“Credit to Chelsea. They’re an outstanding side and were able to create moments to take the game in their direction,” said Saints boss Hughes.

“They’ve got some of the best players when playing on the counter-attack. The likes of Hazard are deadly.”

However, the ex-Chelsea forward was adamant that keeper Willy Caballero was not fouled by Charlie Austin when the underdogs had a goal disallowed at 1-0 and that there should at least have been a referral to VAR.

Referee Martin Atkinson gave Caballero the benefit of the doubt and Morata’s header then doubled Chelsea’s lead. 

“The goalkeeper has thrown the ball in his net. Basically it was poor goalkeeping,” he said.

“It was clearly a match-defining moment and a key time for us. Why it wasn’t referred I have no idea.”