Mike Dean analyses Alex Iwobi footage after West Ham controversy vs Fulham
Mike Dean believes West Ham United should’ve had a penalty against Fulham in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Alex Iwobi seemed to have handled the ball in the 16th minute while clearing a corner at Craven Cottage on 4 March.
The former Premier League official feels the Nigeria international was leaning towards the ball when it looked to have hit his arm.
While Dean thinks the Hammers should’ve had a spot kick, he acknowledges that VAR may have felt it hit the Cottagers’ midfielder high up to be an infringement.
Speaking on Soccer Special on 4 March, the ex-referee said, “I thought it was a penalty. Iwobi was leaning towards the ball. I can see why it wasn’t given, though, and it went to the VAR, and he obviously thought it hit him too high up the arm.”
Nuno Espirito Santo has game-changer vs Fulham
Crysencio Summerville has shown this season that he’s capable of being a reliable attacking threat for the Hammers.
The 24-year-old has seven goal contributions in the Premier League before the visit to Craven Cottage, and Nuno has done well to give him the freedom to manoeuvre in the opening 45 minutes.
With the Dutch forward pulling the strings for the Irons in the final third, they will be confident about scoring more than one goal in SW6.
The East London outfit can’t afford to drop any more points in the Premier League in the final 10 games of the season, and a win against the Cottagers could take them closer to their relegation rivals further up the table.
Callum Wilson and Taty Castellanos’ partnership up front has been encouraging and visiting supporters will hope they can continue to put Fulham’s defence under pressure after the break.
West Ham have clear gameplan at Craven Cottage that fans will love
Nuno isn’t bothered about playing pretty football and seems to have given his team instructions to go long when presented with the opportunity.
While Jarrod Bowen and Summerville can show their qualities in tight spaces for West Ham, the Portuguese manager clearly wants Wilson and Castellanos to stretch the opposition defence and run in behind.
At such a crucial stage of the season, the London Stadium faithful will surely want to see a pragmatic approach from the Irons.
Every point matters for the East London outfit and they must do everything they can to get the better of Fulham in the second half.
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