Keane rejects Carragher claim over Tottenham vs Chelsea clash – ‘There was too much madness’

Roy Keane insists he “didn’t enjoy” the Tottenham’s 4-1 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League on Monday night as “there was too much madness”.

Spurs lost their unbeaten start to the Premier League season in a pulsating London derby in which five goals were disallowed and the hosts played the final 35 minutes with nine men.

To add salt into fresh Tottenham wounds, Micky van de Ven was forced off with a hamstring injury and James Maddison had to be withdrawn due to an ankle knock, while Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, who were both sent off, will sit out this weekend’s trip to Wolves.

Ange Postecoglou’s side battled admirably, first with 10 men from the 35th minute and then when down to nine early in the second half, but Nicolas Jackson grabbed the first of his three goals with quarter of an hour left to finally break the hosts’ resolve.

There were numerous VAR delays and checks with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher enjoying the spectacle, he said on Sky Sports: “Loved watching it, was intrigued right through the game!”

But Keane didn’t share his enthusiasm for the game, despite the drama, with the Manchester United legend more bothered about the lack of quality.

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Keane said on Stick to Football podcast: “I didn’t really enjoy it [Tottenham vs Chelsea]. I thought there was too much going on, there were a couple of sendings off and I didn’t think the quality was that great in the game. Spurs were up against it and got a couple of applause but Chelsea were very average.

“When there’s a couple of sendings off, it spoils the game and I know there’s plenty of talking points but sometimes you sit down and just want to watch a good quality game.

“There were too many stoppages – generally speaking, it’s great to have some talking points but there was too much madness and ultimately, the Spurs players were making some crazy decisions.

“The first 15 minutes they were fine, but even afterwards I was disappointed with Chelsea. I know they scored late on, and it looks a comfortable scoreline, but up until the last few minutes, Spurs had a chance.”

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg came off the bench in the second half and the Dane was proud of their efforts to try and get something out of the match.

Hojbjerg said: “I think we went down with the flag held high. We gave it our all but the result hurts a lot. We showed what we had in our hearts but the result hurts.

“Tuesday we have a day off and when we see each other on Wednesday, we’ll gather the pieces and focus on the next game, as we have to.

“Everyone has to show their availability and show they are prepared to do what it takes.

“A good squad is not 11 players. It is 18 or 25 players and this is what we have to show. The result hurts a lot but we have to keep going.”