It was in the ‘eyes’, Gary Neville said as the red mist descended over Jean-Clair Todibo and the West Ham United defender trudged down the tunnel a few minutes before the rest of his teammates following a dramatic end to the London derby defeat by Chelsea.
Look up ‘game of two halves’, and you will see highlights of this remarkable afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
Gary Neville saw West Ham roar into a 2-0 lead – Aaron Wan-Bissaka ‘ripped Chelsea’ apart while assisting both Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville – before Liam Rosenior displayed a tactical maturity far beyond his years.
Late heartbreak 😡 Where did it all go wrong?!
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Three changes at the interval; Alejandro Garnacho, Jorrel Hato and Benoit Badiashile hauled off after being given the runaround by Wan-Bissaka and Bowen. Twelve minutes into the second-half, and one of Rosenior’s subs set up the other – Wesley Fofana crossing for Joao Pedro – as the game flipped on its head.
And no one epitomised the good and bad of West Ham like Todibo. Imperious in the opening 45, imploding in the second.
Gary Neville felt Jean-Clair Todibo was rightly dismissed as West Ham United lose to Chelsea
Todibo saw red in every sense of the word in stoppage time. Shortly after Enzo Fernandez had put Chelsea ahead for the first time in the 92nd minute, West Ham United’s France international was shown a straight red card as he grabbed Joao Pedro around the neck.
Neville certainly had no sympathy for the suddenly wild-eyed centre-back.
“He’s not hit anybody, but he’s gone in to basically throttle [Pedro],” the Manchester United legend said during Sky Sports’ live coverage, Todibo and debutant Adama Traore right at the heart of a last-gasp scuffle.
“At one point, he’s got hold of his neck and looks like he’s trying to eat him!”
Jamie Redknapp, the one-time Liverpool, Tottenham and England midfielder, found another fault in Todibo’s most erratic of evenings.
Todibo ‘made a mistake’ as Joao Pedro justified Liam Rosenior’s changes
Redknapp felt that Todibo left Konstantinos Mavropanos with an impossible task both Pedro and Liam Delap drifted towards the far post.
“Now, [thanks to the substitutions, Chelsea] have got two forwards up the pitch. For Mavropanos, in the first half, it was so easy for him. Now, he is looking over his shoulder thinking, ‘Joao Pedro can head it’,” Redknapp said.
“Todibo makes a mistake here because what he does, instead of helping his centre-back partner, he decides to drift in. Todibo has started to come across instead of thinking to himself, ‘I can get onto this centre-forward here and go two-for-two’.
It’s a painful one – but who was your MOTM vs Chelsea and why?!
We can keep our heads held high 👍
“It’s brilliant play from Fofana. Mavropanos now has a problem because he’s thinking, ‘Do I go with Delap or stay where I am and go with Joao Pedro?’ He sort of gets caught in between. He [Fofana] digs a great cross out and Mavropanos then can’t get back in time.”
“You are looking at Todibo thinking, ‘if in doubt, just protect the goal! Just stand in front of the goal’. One at the front post, one at the far post, and you won’t be far wrong,” agrees ex-West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green.
“[Todibo] is way beyond the goal and Mavropanos can’t get back in and cover both of them. Wan-Bissaka can’t get round and from nowhere – you are looking fairly steady and in your shape – you get outnumbered.
“The legs start to go and the decision-making starts to go from West Ham.”
Chelsea’s stunning turnaround means West Ham could end the weekend six points adrift of safety, despite Leeds’ mauling at the hands of Arsenal. Nottingham Forest host free-falling Crystal Palace on Sunday at 2pm.
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