While some referees always seem to create controversy through questionable decisions, Anthony Taylor represents one of the Premier League’s more trusted officials. There’s an aura of authority about the 39-year-old and although every referee has a bad decision in them, he seems to produce a lot less than most.
That can never quite be illustrated accurately by statistics alone, but Taylor tellingly ranks amongst the middle of the pack from the 20 referees to work in the Premier League this season for fouls per tackle, fouls per game, yellow cards per game and penalties per game – no higher than seventh or lower than 14th.
It suggests a balanced approach to officiating, not needlessly awarding fouls and spot kicks but not shying away from the important calls either, and because there’s Champions League qualification on the line in Taylor’s match this Sunday, that only bodes well for Chelsea and Liverpool – who will both want a fair game.
In terms of omens though, results this season hint the Blues are in for less luck than this weekend’s visitors to Stamford Bridge. No club has been refereed by Taylor more times in the Premier League than Chelsea this season with five, but they’ve only actually won three of those games – drawing with Arsenal and losing to West Ham.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are undefeated with Taylor in the middle this term, winning two of three, and those matches have produced amongst the Manchester-born referee’s lowest fouls per tackle rates of the season – just 0.52 compared to Chelsea’s 0.63.
And in even worse news for the west Londoners, just 44% of the games Taylor has officiated this season have ended in home wins. While that’s not a huge extreme compared to the rest of the Premier League – the remaining referees to oversee more than one game ranging between 63% and 27% – the fact is Chelsea need a victory this Sunday to keep their Champions League homes alive.
A draw or better, on the other hand, will seal Liverpool’s place in Europe’s top competition next season excepting a gigantic turnaround in goal difference. Evidence so far this term suggests that outcome is more likely than Chelsea grabbing the win they desperately need.
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