Graham Potter issues verdicts on Joao Felix and controversial decision during West Ham vs Chelsea

Graham Potter has had his say on Chelsea’s frustrating draw against struggling rivals West Ham United on Saturday.

The Blues led at the London Stadium following an early goal from Joao Felix, but former star Emerson Palmieri ensured the spoils were shared with a first-half goal of his own, ghosting in unmarked at the far post.

It’s now three games without a win for Chelsea, but they might have taken all three points had Craig Pawson - or indeed VAR - awarded what appeared to be a clear handball from Tomas Soucek in the final moments of the game. Asked about the incident by BT Sport after the game, Potter said: “It looks it (obvious handball). These are the little things you need to go in your favour. At the moment, they are not, but that’s life.

“There’s nothing to complain about there, it’s just we have to keep working, and there were positives in terms of how we want to play. There were good moments in attack and players are still getting up to speed with the Premier League.”

Speaking about his team’s performance more generally, the Chelsea boss added: “I thought you could see positives in the performance, especially in the first half. We stepped forward, in terms of the previous game. We are in a process where we are getting guys up to speed, getting them match minutes, and the ability to be able to sustain what we want to do is the challenge for us. But there were positives in the game.”

Chelsea’s most impressive player on Saturday was goalscorer Felix, who looked bright on and off the ball throughout the afternoon, returning with a bang after a three-game suspension. Asked for his thoughts on the Portuguese star’s performance, Potter added: “It’s his first game for a while, but I thought he managed the game well and influenced the game. You can see his quality, and he will get better and better the more he plays with us.”