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WESTHAM’S DISALLOWED GOAL CLARIFIED AFTER VAR CONTROVERSY

Tomas Soucek’s opening goal was controversially disallowed against Chelsea on Wednesday night after a lengthy VAR decision canceled out the goal for reasons explained by the officials.

West Ham United ‘s 3-2 win over Chelsea was a massive result for the Hammers, who move above Watford and three points clear of the relegation zone.

Goals from Tomas Soucek, Michail Antonio and Andriy Yarmolenko handed David Moyes’ side all three points but it could have been different after a controversial VAR ruling early on in the game.

Soucek thought he had scored the opener after bundling the ball over the line from a corner but it was controversially disallowed by VAR.

On commentary, Gary Neville expressed his bafflement at the decision, commenting “I’m not even sure what they’re looking at,” while the check was ongoing.

“I would be absolutely furious if this goal is disallowed and I’m David Moyes. I think if it takes this long and you can’t sort it out you’ve just got to be giving the goal.”

However, the goal was not given, with Neville complaining: “I don’t like that one. Not for me, that one. I’m not against the introduction of technology of the game and I think I have a level of patience that it will get better.

“The interference maybe? I don’t know, they’re so close, Antonio and Kepa, I’m not sure that’s interference. I’m not sure he was even offside. But without that touch, I’m not sure.”

PGMOL have since released a statement explaining the decision, revealing: “Soucek’s goal was disallowed following a VAR Review for an offside offence against Antonio.

“The on-field decision was to award the goal, but the VAR advised the referee that Antonio was in an offside position & directly in the line of vision of Kepa Arrizabalaga.”

Speaking after the game about the decision, Moyes said: “I was spewing. I was thinking ‘Are we ever going to get a decision here?’ I felt like everything was going against us.

“I think some of the things that have gone against West Ham recently have been really poor. I can’t explain it but we did say to the players that we’ve got to change our luck and it maybe went our way tonight.”

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CHELSEA STUNNED BY LAST GASP YARMOLENKO STRIKE AS HAMMERS BEAT CHELSEA IN DRAMATIC LONDON DERBY

Super-sub Andriy Yarmolenko scored a last-gasp winner to give West Ham’s Premier League survival hopes a huge boost in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Chelsea at the London Stadium.

Introduced in the 78th minute for Jarrod Bowen, who had earlier set up goals for Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio, Yarmolenko coolly slotted home at the end of a swift counter-attack to stun Chelsea.

The vital result lifts David Moyes’ side three points above the relegation zone, while Chelsea – for whom Willian scored twice, including a stunning free-kick – missed the chance to climb to third.

It is the first time the Hammers, who won the reverse fixture 1-0, have done the league double over the Blues since the 2002-03 season, although they were somewhat ominously relegated in that campaign.

It had not shaped up to be a good night for the home side when Soucek was initially denied his first goal for the club, a lengthy VAR review finding the prone Antonio to be offside when the Czech forced home the loose ball from a corner.

The Hammers’ woes were compounded when Issa Diop brought down Christian Pulisic in the area and Willian confidently converted the spot-kick.

But West Ham fought back and Slavia Prague loanee Soucek climbed above Cesar Azpilicueta to nod in the leveller from Bowen’s corner.

Moyes’ men took the lead when Bowen tricked his way into space and drove a low cross into the heart of the area, with Antonio on hand to provide the finish.

However, they could not hold on at 2-1 and Willian’s cultured free-kick hit the inside of Lukasz Fabianski’s left-hand upright before nestling in the net.

Remarkably, that was not the end of matters and, with the visitors pushing for a winner, the decisive goal came at the other end as Yarmolenko collected Antonio’s pass before slotting in.

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Chelsea go past leicester to qualify for semi final

Ross Barkley came off the bench to send Chelsea to Wembley as manager Frank Lampard’s half-time changes transformed this FA Cup quarter-final at Leicester City.

The Foxes held sway in the first 45 minutes at the King Power Stadium, although it took a flying save from Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel to keep out Christian Pulisic’s powerful drive.

Lampard’s discontent could be heard echoing around the virtually deserted arena – and he acted by introducing Barkley, Mateo Kovacic and Cesar Azpilicueta at the interval for Reece James, the subdued Billy Gilmour and Mason Mount.

It had the desired effect as Chelsea improved markedly. Barkley, who was on target in the 2-0 win against Liverpool in the last round, scoring the winner after 63 minutes when he reacted to get in just ahead of Jonny Evans and sweep Willian’s clever cross past Schmeichel.

Leicester, missing the injured James Maddison, were out of sorts after the break although they applied late pressure and defender Caglar Soyuncu was frustrated late on when his header struck Azpilicueta and flew over.

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GOING TO LONDON: TIMO WERNER BREAKS LEIPZIG RECORD BEFORE CHELSEA MOVE.

Timo Werner has become RB Leipzig’s all-time leading goalscorer in his final appearance for the Bundesliga club before his move to Chelsea.

Earlier this month, Frank Lampard’s side completed a £53 million deal with RB Leipzig to sign Werner this summer.

Meanwhile, RB Leipzig’s Bundesliga season finished on Saturday and the club secured a third-placed finish with a 2-1 victory over Augsburg. Werner scored twice in that match in doing so he overtook Daniel Frahn to become RB Leipzig’s top scorer in the club’s history with 95 goals.

Werner also equalled another Bundesliga record with his double as his record of 17 goals scored away from home this term is the same as Jupp Heynckes managed in the 1973-74 season.

Werner finished the Bundesliga campaign with 28 goals – which is the highest total from any German player since Mario Gomez, who also scored 28 times in the 2010-11 campaign.

Only Robert Lewandowski scored more in the Bundesliga this season as the Poland international ended the campaign with 34 goals for Bayern Munich. RB Leipzig’s season is not over as they remain in the Champions League, but it has already been announced that Werner will join Chelsea before the competition gets back under way

Speaking after Chelsea completed their move for Werner, Lampard said: ‘I have certainly followed him for a while just as a talented player before I took this job.

He will strengthen us, he is a huge talent who had a fantastic season. ‘I had good conversations with Timo personally. He understands our project and what we want to do as a club. ‘We’re pleased he’s decided to come to us and look forward to him joining next season.

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WILLIAN AND PEDRO SIGN NEW CONTRACTS

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard will have two of his senior attackers available for the Premier League run-in after Willian and Pedro agreed to short-term extensions on their current deals until the end of the season.

Both players were due to leave the club on 30 June after the expiration of their previous deals, but have opted to stay at Stamford Bridge until the climax of the Premier League season, which has been extended into the summer.

Willian, 31, has been one of the key senior players for Chelsea this season, starting 22 league matches for Lampard, but had been unable to agree terms on an extended contract beyond this summer, with the Brazilian allegedly keen for a longer deal than was on the table.

World Cup winner Pedro has only started eight league matches, and had already negotiated a move to Roma when his contract with Chelsea expires. However, that transfer will happen after the domestic seasons in England and Italy finish.

Willian has been a mainstay in Chelsea’s squad since making a big money move from Anzhi in 2013, winning the Premier League twice, the FA Cup, and also the Europa League in 2019.

Pedro has won all those accolades also, but win just the one Premier League title.

Even before the summer transfer window opens, the Blues have been busy in the transfer market and have already completed the signings of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and Timo Werner from RB Leipzig, as Lampard adds yet more talented youth to his squad.

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Pulisic steals the show as chelsea defeat aston villa

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JUNE 21: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea holds back Jack Grealish of Aston Villa as both teams clash during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Chelsea FC at Villa Park on June 21, 2020 in Birmingham, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Pool via Getty Images)

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has backed “hungry” Christian Pulisic to play a big part in the Blues’ bid for a top-four finish in the Premier League after the forward scored in Sunday’s 2-1 win at Aston Villa.

The visitors controlled the first half but fell behind when Kepa failed to hold Anwar El Ghazi’s shot and Kortney Hause was on hand to bundle in.

Lampard sent Pulisic on in the 55th minute and five minutes later the United States international equalised when he lashed Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross into the roof of the net.

Olivier Giroud then sealed victory two minutes later when he drove in from 15 yards with the help of a slight deflection.

Pulisic was playing his first game since New Year’s Day after recovering from injury and Lampard is confident he will be an important player for him in the run-in.

“He will start games for us, of course, and I think he’s going to be a big player for us, not just in this run-in but going forward,” he said.

“He was hungry. I know that and I felt for him, as I felt for the players with long-term injuries.

“The ability he’s got to arrive in the box, it’s a big thing, I’ve spoken about it with him all season.”

The win means fourth-placed Chelsea restored their five-point advantage over Manchester United and Wolves, who are fifth and sixth respectively.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, remain in the relegation zone, one point from safety after taking one point from their first two games back following the resumption of the Premier League.

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CHELSEA READY TO SELL NGOLO KANTE FOR KAI HAVERTZ AND BEN CHILWELL ACQUISITIONS.

Chelsea are reportedly considering letting their central midfielder N’Golo Kante leave this summer in order to raise the fees necessary to sign Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell.

Kante, 29, has been a crucial part of the Blues first-team since moving to the club in 2016, helping them win the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Europa League in that time.

However, with Chelsea having already splashed out close to £100m on the signings of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, manager Frank Lampard has been told he will need to sell if he wants to bring in further players.

And according to reports, Kante is one of those who could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge, along with fringe players such as Tiemoue Bakayoko, Michy Batshuayi and Baba Rashman.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Havertz, who has had a hugely impressive season in the Bundesliga, is valued at around £75m by his club, and Chelsea are thought to be desperate to try to lure the winger to west London, although he himself is said to prefer a move to Real Madrid.

Meanwhile Lampard is also a huge fan of Leicester full-back Chilwell, and the club are confident that a bid in excess of £50m will tempt the Foxes into letting the England international go.

The squad is certainly shaping up nicely for next season, but owner Roman Abramovich will no doubt be desperate for the team to qualify for the Champions League, especially given the financial incentives being in the competition offers.

The Blues currently sit in fourth place in the Premier League, just three points clear of Manchester United, and they will be desperate for three points when their campaign gets back underway against Aston Villa on Sunday ahead of two tricky-looking games against Manchester City and Leicester.

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WERNER SIGNS FOR CHELSEA

The forward, 24, has agreed personal terms with the Blues and, subject to passing a medical, will join in July after the German league season ends.

Werner, who joined Leipzig from Stuttgart in 2016, has scored 32 goals in all competitions so far this season.

“I am delighted to be signing for Chelsea, it is a proud moment for me to be joining this great club,” said the German international.

Werner, who is known for his pace and can also play as a winger, thanked the club and fans at Leipzig and said they would “would always be in my heart”.

His July move also confirms Werner will not play for Leipzig in the Champions League quarter-finals in August.

He added: “I look forward to next season with my new team-mates, my new manager and of course the Chelsea fans.

“Together we have a successful future ahead of us.”

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia says the club is “excited” to have one of Europe’s “most coveted players” heading to Stamford Bridge.

“He has that rare mix of being young and exciting and yet established and proven,” she added.

Werner is Chelsea’s second signing for next season after they completed a £37m deal for Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech in February

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MERTENS TO STAY IN NAPOLI

Belgian forward Dries Mertens came close to joining Chelsea but will renew his contract with Napoli instead, journalist Kristof Terreur has told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“In January when Chelsea knocked on the door, he was quite convinced,” Belgian reporter Terreur said.

“But once you are in the south of Italy, with good money and you are a god, why would you change that?

“He would come to the Premier League as a nobody and in Italy he is a star.”

Mertens, 33, became Napoli’s outright all-time top goalscorer on Saturday when his goal in the Coppa Italia semi-final win over Inter Milan moved him to 122 for the club, one clear of Marek Hamsik.

The Belgium international’s contract expires at the end of the season, but he has reportedly agreed a three-year extension despite interest from Inter Milan and Chelsea.

Terreur added that Mertens’ love of London, where he and his wife regularly go for mini-breaks, also made Chelsea’s offer attractive.

Chelsea have made attacking additions this summer, with a deal agreed for Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech, and RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner expected to follow.