West Ham United must pick themselves up from a dramatic defeat to Chelsea as they head into a relegation six-pointer with Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.
Indeed, the brilliant performance that the Hammers put in at Stamford Bridge in the first half has largely faded into the memory now following West Ham’s 3-2 defeat against Chelsea.
The defeat was compounded by Jean-Clair Todibo’s red card. In a major blow for Nuno Espirito Santo, key defender Todibo was sent off against Chelsea for violent conduct after appearing to grab Joao Pedro around the neck.
Who should replace Todibo on Saturday?! 🤔
Keep in mind that Axel Disasi hasn't played in months 😬
A graphic showing a split image of Max Kilman and Axel Disasi.
Credit: Getty Images/Rob Newell – CameraSport/Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC
All of this came after the Blues had flipped the game on its head, coming back from two goals down to send Nuno’s side home with nothing.
Clearly, there can be little argument with Todibo’s red card and he will now miss the next three games as a result. Tomas Soucek, however, appeared to see the funny side.
Tomas Soucek asked for a West Ham penalty before Jean-Clair Todibo red card
The altercation started when Adama Traore threw Marc Cucurella to the ground. Pedro didn’t like that and he, in turn, pushed the West Ham debutant.
Just as Traore was gearing up to respond, Todibo raced over and grabbed Pedro.
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Something of a mini-brawl broke out and it was initially hard to decipher exactly what was going on.
The Sky Sports TikTok channel, however, have now released some interesting footage.
Where should Nuno play Adama Traore? 🤔
Wing back? Winger? Or on the bench? 😂
A graphic showing Adama Traore playing for West Ham.
Credit: Getty Images/Justin Setterfield
They had the ‘Ref Cam’ on referee Anthony Taylor, which shows him in conversation with several players.
After the scuffle broke out, Cole Palmer is seen asking him if he has checked VAR yet. Soucek, meanwhile, asks if West Ham were in line for a penalty! Quite why is unclear, though he was surely joking.
He said: “So it’s a possible penalty?”
Taylor responded: “No, the ball is out of play.”
Reece James laughed at that suggestion and said: “Come on Tomas.”
Jean-Clair Todibo’s red card could be twice as costly for him at West Ham United
Todibo has not always convinced while clad in claret and blue but he has recently been enjoying some decent form.
However, he will now miss the next three games at least, although one of them will be against Burton in the FA Cup – a game that West Ham will be expected to win.
The fact that Axel Disasi has now joined West Ham could be a problem for Todibo, too.
Should his compatriot hit the ground running – and there’s no guarantee of that given his lack of game time – then perhaps he’ll find himself out of the picture again.
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