‘That’s life’- Potter on Chelsea’s penalty claim against West Ham

Potter defended his players following their draw against West Ham

PREMIER LEAGUE ‘That’s life’- Potter on Chelsea’s penalty claim against West Ham

Joba Ogunwale 16:57 - 11.02.2023

The Blues' poor form under Potter continued on Saturday after they were denied a win in their Premier League clash against West Ham.

Chelsea manager Graham Potter has defended his players’ performance in the Premier League match against West Ham on Saturday afternoon. 

Chelsea played out a 1-1 draw against the Hammers at the Olympic Stadium as their poor form under Potter continued. 

Chelsea and West Ham share spoils

Joao Felix, back from a three-match suspension after he was sent off on his debut against Fulham, put Chelsea ahead with a nice finish following a delightful ball from fellow January signing Enzo Fernandez. 

However, Potter’s men were pegged back almost immediately as former Blue Emerson slotted in at the near post. 

Both teams went into the break with the scores tied, but Chelsea dominated the second half of the encounter. 

But despite their dominance, the Blues’ best chance in the second half was a shot from Connor Gallagher which was deflected away by Tomas Soucek. 

Replays, however, showed that the Czech had used his hand to block the shot. Still, referee Craig Pawson did not give a penalty following a VAR review- a decision which annoyed Chelsea fans. 

Potter's sly dig at Soucek 

But following the match, Potter refused to criticise VAR, although he was not happy with Soucek’s unorthodox style of defending. 

 “It looked it (handball), you need things to go in your way, at the moment they’re not, that’s life,” Potter told BT Sport as per CFC Pys. 

"You need your goalkeeper sometimes to get you the points," Potter said in reference to Soucek's hand ball

While Chelsea gave a positive performance, the result leaves them with just two wins in their last 15 matches. Nonetheless, Potter was satisfied with his work, saying the team is still a work in progress. 

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"We played well, had good control, scored and looked to add to the goal,” Potter told BBC Match of the Day. 

"It was a generally positive performance in the first half. We were disappointed in the bit that we didn't that we conceded which obviously make it more difficult

"The second half was more of a reflection of where we are in terms of integrating new players and getting players up to speed in the Premier League.

"I think you saw the potential in the first half. You can’t control what people say from the outside, you see it how it is and carry on working. They are a good group and we are excited with the team and the potential but it is still a work in progress,” Potter added. 

It does not get easier for Chelsea, though, as their next match is a trip to Germany for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 match against Borussia Dortmund. 

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