It’s fair to say Jarrod Bowen was a little more forgiving than Nuno Espirito Santo when it came to the red card which now rules Jean-Clair Todibo out of West Ham United’s next three matches in the Premier League and the FA Cup.
Todibo was sent off for grabbing Joao Pedro mere minutes after Enzo Fernandes had fired a dramatic stoppage-time winner past Alphonse Areola at Stamford Bridge.
The Frenchman will therefore be unavailable when West Ham United travel to Burnley, host Manchester United, and face third-tier Burton Albion in the FA Cup fourth-round. Considering that the Hammers have gone 23 games without a clean sheet – 24 would equal an all-time club record, by the way – Todibo’s absence will not make life any easier for Nuno Espirito Santo and the rest of a leaky backline.
It’s a painful one – but who was your MOTM vs Chelsea and why?!
We can keep our heads held high 👍
Jarrod Bowen defends Jean-Clair Todibo after West Ham United red card in Chelsea loss
Captain Jarrod Bowen obviously had a better view of things than his manager as a scuffle broke out near the corner flag.
As far as the skipper is concerned, at least Todibo is showing some fight. Albeit, a little too literally.
“Football is football, at the end of the day,” Bowen told reporters after West Ham threw away a 2-0 lead at Stamford Bridge. “Emotions can get the better of people sometimes.
“‘JC’ trains well every single day and turns up every single week. He’s always available and he’s a fiery person. And I like that emotion from a player.
“Of course, you don’t want someone to get sent-off, but emotions were high. We’re going to miss JC now, but it’s just one of those things in football.”
Nuno Espirito Santo says Todibo absence is ‘disappointing’
Nuno, though, may not be quite so willing to forgive and forget. West Ham conceded twice after Max Kilman entered proceedings just past the hour mark. Unless a new defensive signing arrives before Monday’s deadline – talks with Chelsea for misfit Axel Disasi have stalled – Nuno is facing up to the frightful prospect of starting Kilman alongside Mavropanos for the next two Premier League outings.
“[Todibo’s sending off] is disappointing,” Nuno said. “But I have to see the images so I can judge properly what happened. VAR intervened. We don’t have him for the next games.”
How did you FEEL when Kilman replaced Pablo?! This TalkingPoints subscriber isn’t very happy 👇
It felt like it was coming….
Going defensive too early cost us! 😡
Bowen and Aaron Wan-Bissaka ‘ripped Chelsea’ apart in the first-half, forcing a trio of changes at the interval from home boss Liam Rosenior.
Flying Dutchman Crysencio Summerville has now scored in four successive matches, meanwhile. Only the fourth West Ham player to achieve such a feat since Tony Cottee in 1986.
Not for the first time under Nuno, though, some exciting attacking playe was undone by meek defending and questionable tactical changes.
“We have to take things from today’s game. We weren’t terrible today,” Bowen sighs. “We looked really comfortable for 45 minutes and, overall, we’ve shown lots of good moments over recent weeks.
“In the situation we’re in we can’t sit on it or dwell for too long. We have to take the positives, go to Burnley next week and win the game. It’s as simple as that.”
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