Chelsea defeated Everton 1-0 in the Blues' Premier League opener, however a horrifying Ben Godfrey injury early in the first half dampened the mood in Goodison Park.
In the 18th minute of the game Godfrey had to be stretchered off the field, put on oxygen and taken to the hospital after a terrifying injury to his right ankle while trying to make a tackle on Kai Havertz.
Fans are furious at the linesman for not seeing that the ball had clearly gone out of play moments before the injury.
Ben Godfrey Injury (WARNING: GRAPHIC)
Unnecessary injury to Ben Godfrey. It all could had been avoided that is if the linesman had done his job properly Get well soon Ben.pic.twitter.com/C0fZ2CiYZi#EVECHE
— MoAubamayeng (@MoAubamayeng) August 6, 2022
yeah Ben Godfrey injury has broken his ankle pic.twitter.com/GNtefDTneC
— Liam (@LiamxNaby) August 6, 2022
If they’d spotted that Ben Godfrey wouldn’t be lying there with a broken leg/ankle ♂️ https://t.co/EKAhnPCrJu
— Danny (@Dan_B94) August 6, 2022
The linesman won't be very popular after this one, after he failed to flag for a corner resulting in Ben Godfrey's injury...@EvertonBlueArmy | #EVECHE
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) August 6, 2022
This is a horrendous error from the officiating crew to not have stopped play. The ball was so far over the line but the linesman was nowhere to be found.
Further detail on the extent of the injury will be announced later but it’s a potential season-ender for Godfrey.
The lone goal of the game came from a Jorginho penalty during stoppage time just before the half.
Cool as you like from the penalty spot by Jorginho.
Pickford guesses wrong and Chelsea take a 1-0 lead late in first half stoppage time. #CFC: @USA_Network & @NBCUniverso #MyPLMorning | #EVECHE pic.twitter.com/j2VEBBPKrI
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 6, 2022