Dermot Gallagher reacts to Chelsea v West Ham United controversy
Dermot Gallagher has suggested Chelsea were fortunate their equaliser stood in the 2-1 win over West Ham United.
Jarrod Bowen proved he has “something special” following his return from injury after he opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge on Monday evening (3 February).
However, an Aaron Wan-Bissaka own goal gifted Chelsea all three points after Pedro Neto had earlier netted a contentious equaliser.
Commenting on a foul by Ruben Colwill on Bowen in the build-up, ex-Premier League referee Gallagher said live on Sky Sports Ref Watch (4 February, 11:06am): “If he gives the foul, nobody would argue.
“He says no, it plays on, and the ball goes in the net 24 seconds later, then we have the uproar of the offside call, which has created lots of debate too.”
West Ham United throw away one-goal lead in Chelsea loss
It is never a dull affair when West Ham and Chelsea meet in the London derby.
The Irons were comfortably beaten in a 3-0 loss in the return fixture at the London Stadium on 21 September, with Konstantinos Mavropanos scapegoated for his failure to deal with Nicolas Jackson, who opened the scoring after four minutes.
Indeed, the loss was a particularly low point in Julen Lopetegui’s disastrous tenure and set the tone for his short-lived reign in East London.
However, with Graham Potter now at the helm, not much has changed at the Irons in terms of results – the loss marked his third in five games since taking charge.
Although arguments can be made for Neto’s equaliser, with Marc Guiu looking offside as the Portuguese forward found the back of the net after the supposed Colwill foul, the loss is not good enough.
West Ham were in cruise control after Bowen delivered the opener and could have quickly shut up shop and earned three well-fought points in West London.
The Hammers faithful may not appreciate a pragmatic approach considering the painful football they endured under Lopetegui, but when means must, and three points against Chelsea is worth sacrificing 45 minutes of free-flowing football.
Nevertheless, Potter must find the winning formula at the London Stadium soon – with clashes against Brentford and Arsenal up next, his time at the Irons will not get any easier.
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