“That Emerson goal is hilarious” - Chelsea star blamed for ‘horrid’ position in build-up to West Ham equalizer

Broadcaster Nubaid Haroon criticized Chelsea defender Reece James for his positioning during Emerson's equalizer for West Ham. The former Blues left-back scored in the 28th minute to level the score at 1-1.

Joao Felix gave Graham Potter's side an early lead after Enzo Fernandez set him up with a spectacular pass. Emerson equalized soon afterwards as he slotted the ball home after making a run to the far-post.

James, however, left Emerson in acres of space, prompting Haroon to criticize him. The broadcaster said (via Transfer Tavern):

"That Emerson goal is hilarious btw. Reece James’ positioning is horrid.”

The draw meant the Blues have now shared the spoils in their last three Premier League games. Potter's team are currently ninth in the league with 31 points from 22 games.

They will next take on Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League on February 15. The Champions League is the only competition the West London side have a shot at winning this season.

Rio Ferdinand pointed out mistake that Chelsea boss Graham Potter made

Graham Potter - Premier League

During the game against West Ham United, Chelsea were not awarded a blatant penalty after Tomas Soucek handled the ball inside the penalty area.

Speaking on BT Sport after the game, Ferdinand said Potter should have made the penalty incident the story of the match.

He said (via Metro):

"It comes with experience, if you look at a Pep Guardiola or Klopp or Mourinho in years gone by at Chelsea, Mourinho would have been out there in the presser tomorrow and that would’ve been the story, the back page would’ve been Mourinho slams VAR and takes the focus off what happens on the pitch."

He added:

"There were some bits that you could improve on with Chelsea but that would not be the focus, it probably will be now… the influx of players, the money spent but you can negate that by controlling the narrative in that presser there."

Joe Cole agreed with Ferdinand, saying:

"If he had someone in his staff who has been at that level and managed at that level… you need to cause a bit of an uproar because it does two things, It deflects from the bad elements of your performance but it puts it on VAR. It cost Chelsea a chance of winning the game there through no fault of your own."

Cole continued:

"You can dissect the performance of your team on Monday morning but if I was advising him now I’d say come out and make a thing of it."