Tim Cahill has been full of praise for Leeds United man Ian Poveda-Ocampo after his decision not to go down under a challenge from Ben Chilwell at Stamford Bridge.
During the latest round of Premier League fixtures, Marcelo Bielsa’s side travelled to Stamford Bridge and were on the end of a 3-1 defeat (per BBC).
In the second half of the match, 20-year-old Poveda-Ocampo was introduced into the action for 24-year-old Jack Harrison (per WhoScored).
Following his introduction, there was an incident in which the Englishman was challenged in the box and could have gone down looking for a penalty but he stayed on his feet. (32:00)
On Match of the Day on Saturday night, the issue was discussed and Tim Cahill initially praised the forward, however, Murphy aired possible criticism. (32:10)
Initially, Cahill said: “This is where you have to give players credit. For me, staying on your feet in this instance is what footballers should do.
“They’ll be encouraged to go down but it’s then up to VAR because it’s just not right but Poveda deserves a lot of credit. I think it’s a great example [of] the way the game should be played.”
However, Murphy claimed: “I agree but some people will say he’s stupid, he’s cost his team a point because he knows, if he goes down, it’s a definite penalty at the moment with the rules being the way they are.”
TIF Thoughts on what Danny Murphy said about Ian Poveda-Ocampo…
Should Ian Poveda-Ocampo have gone down in the box?
No, he did the right thing
Yes, he's cost us a point
Aside from the incident, the English forward was poor in the match against the Blues as he picked up a weak 5.97/10 match rating following his introduction (per WhoScored).
That made him the second-worst Leeds player on the pitch during the game, with only Stuart Dallas performing worse.
However, the fact that Poveda-Ocampo did not easily go down against Chelsea shows that he is an honest player and he deserves praise for that.