- Chelsea up to fourth with 2-1 win over ex-Blues boss Graham Potter’s West Ham
- But Potter feels aggrieved after a long VAR check and then a deflected winner
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Graham Potter cursed his rotten luck on his Stamford Bridge return as he felt Chelsea relied on two fortunate goals to come from behind to beat his West Ham side.
Potter believed Pedro Neto’s equaliser came after a foul on Jarrod Bowen by Levi Colwill in the build-up, while VAR also studied closely whether Marc Guiu had touched the ball which would have seen it disallowed for offside.
The PGMOL’s match centre last night said there was not enough evidence to prove Guiu made contact.
Chelsea’s winner then arrived when Cole Palmer’s cross was deflected in by Aaron Wan-Bissaka for an own goal as Enzo Maresca’s side moved back into the Premier League’s top four, leaping above Manchester City and Newcastle.
Potter, who was sacked by Chelsea after less than seven months in charge in 2023, said afterwards: ‘We felt unlucky with the first goal. We felt it was a foul on Jarrod. I haven’t seen it back (the Guiu offside call). It took that long, it must have been tight.
‘The second one is a deflection. We have to focus on what we did well and the spirit and performance. Our supporters appreciated the performance of the team. You need a bit of luck. We felt unfortunate with the lead-up to the first goal. It wasn’t to be.’
West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen remonstrates with referee Stuart Attwell after Chelsea’s equaliser
Cole Palmer’s cross deflects in off a sliding Aaron Wan-Bissaka for Chelsea’s winning goal
West Ham manager Graham Potter believes his team were unlucky for both Chelsea’s goals
Maresca changed his goalkeeper for this victory, dropping Robert Sanchez after too many high-profile mistakes and bringing in 22-year-old Filip Jorgensen. The Chelsea boss said: ‘In this moment, Robert needs rest and Filip was very good.’
Jorgensen was not at fault for Bowen’s opener as it was a poor back-pass from Levi Colwill which left West Ham’s striker through on goal.
‘I’m not concerned,’ Maresca added on the latest error committed by his team. ‘It’s the way we play. Sometimes defensive mistakes happen, keeper mistake, No 9 misses the goal, that’s football. It happens.’
