Chelsea had been held to a 1-1 draw at West Ham United on Saturday as Joao Felix’s opener was cancelled out by ex-Blues defender Emerson Palmieri, leaving Graham Potter’s expensively assembled crew nonetheless a good distance from a top-four spot.
Felix, returning to the crew after the on-loan Portuguese winger was despatched off in his Chelsea debut final month, side-footed dwelling within the sixteenth minute after a pinpoint move by British file signing Enzo Fernandez, one among Stamford Bridge’s many new faces.
Chelsea sought to increase their lead but it surely was their former wing-back Emerson who equalised within the twenty eighth minute when he arrived unmarked on the far submit to fulfill a headed flick-on by Jarrod Bowen and shoot previous Kepa Arrizabalaga.
In a second half of few probabilities, Tomas Soucek put the ball behind the web within the 82nd minute however Declan Rice, who headed the ball on to the Czech, was dominated offside by VAR.
A couple of minutes later, Chelsea appealed in useless for a penalty, claiming substitute Conor Gallagher’s shot was stopped by Soucek’s hand.
Chelsea weren’t awarded a penalty after this handball. Good determination? #WHUCHE pic.twitter.com/9Ocdq67zaW
— Reyi (@Reinaldodcg9) February 11, 2023
The draw meant Chelsea have now gained solely one among their final seven league video games – and so they haven’t gained away since October. They stayed ninth within the desk, 9 factors behind fourth-placed Newcastle who’ve performed a sport much less.
Chelsea coach Potter mentioned he noticed positives within the efficiency of his gamers, particularly within the first half when the Blues, in addition to scoring by Felix, had the ball behind the web twice however each had been dominated out for offside.
“It was a step forward for us in terms of the previous game and lots to go forward with,” he advised BT Sport.
“We had real control of the game and it was a cheap goal from our perspective. That lifts the crowd and makes it more difficult but that is something we have to manage better. We will get better from the experience.”
West Ham climbed as much as fifteenth however are solely two factors forward of Everton, the best positioned crew within the relegation spots.
West Ham supervisor David Moyes mentioned he was blissful that his facet survived Chelsea’s early dominance.
“If you had given me a point after 20 minutes I’d have shook your hand and walked away. We didn’t start well and they were good but we made some basic errors defensively,” Moyes advised the BBC.
“I was hoping it was going to be our day but we had a couple of close calls as well. We take the point and it keeps a bit of a better run going right now.”
