Andy Irving deserves more opportunities at West Ham after what he did vs Chelsea – opinion | OneFootball

Graham Potter’s return to Stamford Bridge as West Ham United manager ended in defeat, as Chelsea came from behind to seal a 2-1 win on Monday night.

The Hammers were on course for a surprise victory after Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring in the 42nd minute.

The West Ham captain made the most of Levi Colwill’s mistake, slotting home to put his side in control of the game.

However, Chelsea made a comeback after Enzo Maresca made four substitutions inside the opening 15 minutes of the second-half.

Pedro Neto restored parity after the hour mark before Cole Palmer’s cross took a huge deflection off Aaron Wan-Bissaka to go past the goalkeeper, sealing a 2-1 triumph for the Blues.

Andy Irving deserves more first-team opportunities

Potter handed Andy Irving his first Premier League start for West Ham on Monday, with Edson Alvarez missing.

The 24-year-old produced an impressive performance at Stamford Bridge, and he deserves to be given more opportunities following this display.

Irving received the second highest Sofascore rating of 7.0 after Bowen. He found plenty of space in the first-half and caused problems for the opposition.

Although his levels dropped after the break, and he also picked up a yellow card for bringing down Palmer. But it was his first start for the club and his overall display was impressive.

Irving was on the pitch for 77 minutes and he had 36 touches in the game.

He registered a key pass, won two of his five duels and completed a cross.

The midfielder also recorded two clearances, a tackle and an interception, though he lost the ball six times.