Chelsea forward Kai Havertz disagrees with Jamie Redknapp on the contentious Dan Burn incident during the first half of the Blues' 1-0 win against Newcastle.
Havertz, 22, despite not having his best game, still showed exactly why Romelu Lukaku keeps missing out on starts for the west Londoners with the moment of magic he produced in the dying embers of the second half.
A long Jorginho ball over the top of the Newcastle defence was taken down sublimely by the £70million man before he poked his effort past Martin Dubravka, to the roar of the Stamford Bridge faithful who had been through so much emotionally in recent times following what has happened to their club
"The pass from Jorginho is absolutely exquisite and Havertz, albeit lucky to be on the pitch, the goal is a lovely touch. I like what Jorginho does as he gets in that pocket but it is if he can execute it," Redknapp said on Sky Sports' post-match coverage.
"It is an absolutely brilliant all round piece of play but do not underestimate the pass, that makes the goal."
Despite the praise delivered on this occasion by the former Spurs man, Redknapp wasn't in the mood to let Havertz completely off the hook, especially after what happened in the first half.
In the 39th minute, a high elbow from the German caught the tall defender in the head and despite an initial yellow card given, Redknapp believed that the punishment should have been a whole lot more for the eventual match winner.
"I think it is a very dangerous challenge from Havertz. We know you have to use your arms for elevation, but there is no doubt that he has endangered an opponent there," Harry Redknapp's son said on Sky Sports.
"He comes across, his elbow is really high, higher than Dan Burns’ head, he catches him right on the side of the face and it could have also fractured his cheekbone, quite easily. You can use your arms for leverage, but when you have your elbow that high, as a defender you have to wonder. Dan Burn is six foot six and he has still managed to catch him that high."
Havertz has since responded in his post-match interview to plead his innocence in this situation with the in-form false 9 saying that it isn't in his DNA to endanger an opponent.
"Sometimes it looks like this but on the pitch it's different.," He said on Sky Sports:
"I think people know me not as a player who does think like this in a certain way.
"This guy [Burn] is seven or eight foot tall and I have to jump and of course, as anyone knows, you have to use your arms to jump.
"When I jump, his head is higher than me, so of course it's tough for me to jump.
"I can say sorry for him because I saw he has an injury on his head and I feel bad of course, but you cannot tell me that I do this on purpose."
