McClaren: We Were Robbed  (Sky Sports)

Steve McClaren slammed the decision to send Jake Buxton off as “ridiculous” as they lost 3-1 to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup.

Buxton was shown the red card for a tug on Loic Remy, with the officials judging the striker to have been denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Craig Bryson had just pulled Derby back into the game with a fine strike after Eden Hazard and Filipe Luis had earlier put Chelsea 2-0 up, and McClaren believes the decision to dismiss Buxton cost them any chance of getting a result.

“They grew into the game, got better, and once we got the goal we were in the ascendency and the momentum was with us, and we’ve been robbed, really, by a ridiculous decision,” he said.

“I’ve watched it over and over and the foul is actually by Remy on Buxton because Buxton was ahead of him and you just see he pulls his left arm out of the way which gets him in front. Then [Lee] Grant is coming out and Remy isn’t appealing for the foul but for handball outside the box which we thought was the decision.

“It’s unbelievable to see that Buxton was sent off. We’ve talked nice and calmly about it with the officials and I just said ‘from that distance and angle you can’t see what Remy did, we understand that, but the decision is wrong’.”

“It’s cost us the game, it’s huge. You can’t win with 10 men – it’s difficult enough with 11, but I’m so proud of the players. They were fantastic tonight.”

Gulf

Derby currently lie third in the Championship table and their manager was delighted with their showing against the Premier League leaders – something he believes shows the quality of the division.

“Second half we were on top,” he added.

“We restricted them – we made a mistake, Eden Hazard’s was a great finish and it was a great free kick, but what else? Not a lot.

“They’re a top team, they’re quality. [But] the gulf between the Championship and the Premier League is definitely closing as you saw tonight.”