• Champions League

Chelsea behaviour 'disgraceful' and 'pathetic'

Chelsea's players were "disgraceful" in the way they reacted as Paris Saint-Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off on Wednesday night, according to Jamie Carragher.

Ibrahimovic was shown a red card in the 31st minute of PSG's Champions League last-16 second leg at Stamford Bridge after he challenged with Oscar for the ball.

Carragher was unhappy with the way Chelsea's players appealed to referee Bjorn Kuipers for Ibrahimovic to be punished for his tackle, with the PSG striker saying Jose Mourinho's players acted like "babies".

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"The sending off is very unfortunate. It's not a red card," former Liverpool defender Carragher told Sky Sports.

"Zlatan is actually trying to pull his foot away. You look at it and Oscar's [foot] is as high as his, if not higher, and if the referee is the other side maybe he would look at Oscar and give the decision the other way.

"The reaction from the Chelsea players is disgraceful and it's sad. It's something that's coming into the game and it comes from Jose Mourinho's teams. They have this reaction, it's not a one-off.

"Maybe what he's said beforehand in the press conference has gone into the referee's head.

"I always think with Jose Mourinho's teams, they will always be respected but they will never be loved because of situations like this. They take winning to a level that no other team or manager does.

"You see the reaction of some of the players and it has definitely played a part - and Mourinho's words have worked."

Despite their numerical advantage, Chelsea struggled and the match went to extra time before a late goal from Thiago Silva clinched a 2-2 draw on the night and progress to the quarter-finals for PSG on away goals.

Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness was also unhappy with the "pathetic" reaction by some of Chelsea's players at Stamford Bridge, claiming they were too focused on trying to get their opponents into trouble with the referee.

"There have been wonderful South American and Latin players come to this country but they bring with them that tactic," Souness told Sky Sports.

"I've worked in Latin countries, I've played in one. It was completely foreign to me when I went there in the '80s and witnessed it close up. They thought it was good play if you got someone else in trouble or someone booked.

"That is something we can do without. It is not the British way of doing things and it's creeping into our game, which is, I find, totally unacceptable.

"When I played, if you got a kick or injured then you didn't want to show the guy who did it that it hurt. You stayed on your feet. Today it's the exact opposite of that. Someone brushes you, you want to go down and try and get them in trouble - that's how pathetic it is.

"Diego Costa - as much as I like him - starts off a game with one intention: 'I am going to intimidate the centre-halves, nudge them, elbow them, set about them physically and just get to the border without getting myself in trouble'.

"He hopes they react to that and come after him. He's cute and clever, gets himself up in the air for any challenge coming, they get a yellow card and those centre-halves can't come near him after that.

"This PSG team is just full of technique, a really good footballing team and they had to put up with stuff which I find really, really unappealing."

Chelsea's players appealed to referee Bjorn Kuipers following tackle on Oscar by Zlatan Ibrahimovic © Getty Images

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