Can't believe you've been watching the same player .... the oppo are always trying to stop him in his tracks by any means and he usually shrugs them off or is brought down. As with Fessi, quick footed players don't need much contact to knock them off balance but tbh I'd rather be dazzled by them than the dirty throwback hardmen of yesteryear.
I’ve never really understood the premise of a referee owing it to the game to look after a certain player or protect them? All players should be treated and protected to the same level. Only last season, after playing Palace I listened to Fat Sam bleating on about how it’s a scandal that Zaha isn’t more protected, doesn’t dive and would be as good as Ronaldo if only the ref’s did something about it. Utter rubbish. All I see is Rich has come from a league where skill is 9 tenths of the law and hard play doesn’t really happen - now he’s here and he’s learning as he goes. He’s gone down soft a few times. He hasn’t really moaned when he has been fouled. He’s got stuck in a lot more than I would have expected too. He’ll learn more and more each game. Genuinely, nothing to see here.
