West Ham United 1-0 Chelsea : 5 Talking Points

#2 Should Christensen have been penalized for handball?

Arnautovic appeals after his flick appears to strike Christensen on the hand

A potentially game-changing moment early in the second half saw Marko Arnautovic storm forward in another West Ham counter-charge. The ex-Stoke forward cut inside young defender Andreas Christensen, who was struggling to track back and keep his opponent in check.

A flick from Arnautovic appeared to hit Christensen on the hand as he looked to create room for himself to have a go at Courtois’ goal. As expected, there were vehement appeals from the Hammers’ players and fans for a penalty. Referee Anthony Taylor took a second or two to ponder before deciding that the handball was not intentional enough to award a spot-kick.

However, replays showed that Christensen’s arm appeared to be in an unnatural position and clearly blocked Arnautovic from going clear through on goal. The incident comes under the ‘seen them given’ category and Christensen will feel slightly fortunate to be given the benefit of doubt. A 2-0 lead via a potential spot-kick could well have sealed the game for David Moyes’ men then and there.