Chelsea are held to a third consecutive draw by West Ham; Graham Potter’s side denied a late penalty for Tomas Soucek’s apparent handball; Potter calls it a “good save” from the Czech midfielder
Graham Potter congratulated Tomas Soucek for his “good save” after the officials waved away Chelsea’s penalty appeals for handball in the 1-1 draw with West Ham.
Conor Gallagher’s low shot struck Soucek on the hand as the West Ham midfielder slid across in an attempt to make a block in the 88th minute, but referee Craig Pawson waved away their appeals and there was no intervention from VAR.
Sky Sports’ pundit Sue Smith called it: “The most obvious penalty you will see”.
It was a good save – you need your goalkeeper to help get you the points,” Potter said.
“It looked a handball to me. I didn’t know Tomas [Soucek] could get down that quickly to make a save like that. It’s a good stop from him. It’s not for me to say about VAR. They are human beings. When there is a different human being in the room so every single decision and action means you won’t get the same one again. It’s very hard to get consistency. Some go for you, some don’t. You have to accept that.”
Potter’s new-look side had started strongly and looked like they might subject the hosts to a punishing afternoon when January signings Enzo Fernandez and Joao Felix combined for the latter’s first Chelsea goal on his return from suspension. However, Chelsea faded as the match wore on and little response when Emerson levelled the game.
