West Ham footballers are still in a situation where they need every point, ideally three. No matter where they are playing. So, for example, from Stamford Bridge. There, however, against the home team Chelsea they were not the favorite at all.
Ö what surprised everyone watching was that the Hammers, in whose colors midfielder Tomáš Souček started from the start, led 2:0 at halftime. Already in the seventh minute, the home team fumbled after Jarrod Bowen’s half-shot – half-center ended behind the back of an unsurprised Sánchez. He caught the ball from the net for the second time before the break, increasing Crysencio Summerville to 2:0.
When the home team left for the locker room, they were accompanied by the whistle of the fans, and on the way back they came in a significantly changed line-up, coach Rosenior made three changes. And they paid off for him. When Bowen missed a chance for a raise and a possible decision, first-round rookie Joao Pedro stepped up at the other end. In the 70th minute, Marc Cucurella took the floor – 2:2. The Chelsea captain Enzo Fernandéz then completed the destruction of the hosts in the setup.
The guests were understandably taken out of the concept, Chelsea, on the other hand, tried to keep the lead. But everything turned into an unpleasant conclusion. West Ham won a corner kick in the set time, but the hero of the moment, Adama Traoré, turned into a bad man, when he first removed one of the onrushing opponents from the path of an almost combative tackle, Joao Pedro then tried to defend him, but even his Spanish muscle man cleared the way.
Chelsea – West Ham match cut:
The Chelsea players, and indeed also West Ham, swarmed around the 30-year-old footballer like wasps and a brawl broke out, in which there was also an almost classic “pub slap” and in which both goalkeepers and Tomáš Souček got involved, who, however, tried to calm down the whole situation. But he didn’t do very well, when the “red” was mainly seen by the teammate of the Czech national team, Jean Clair Todibo.
The Frenchman looked like he had confused soccer with MMA and grabbed Joao Pedro by the neck at the corner flag. After a few tens of seconds, everything was calmed down to the extent possible, but the “rewards” still had to be handed out. Even the video referee had to help with that, and after consultation with VAR, it was Todibo who finally received the red card. Home Joao Pedro and visiting Traoré got away with a yellow.
In the end, West Ham lost not only points, but also one of the mainstays, who will most likely be missing in a smaller or larger portion of the following program. And that can make the Hammers very sad in the fight for survival.
