West Ham United’s 2-1 win over Chelsea on Wednesday was marred by fighting in the stands.
Former West Ham United star Tony Gale has told talkSPORT that the violence at the London Stadium was a shame as it has detracted from the excellent football the Hammers played.
Slaven Bilic’s team hosted London rivals Chelsea at home on Wednesday evening in the last-16 of the EFL Cup.
It proved to be a happy night for them on the pitch as goals from Cheikhou Kouyate and Edimilson Fernandes saw them to a 2-1 victory and the next round of the competition.
Off the pitch, though, things were less happy as violence erupted in the stands, with rival sets of fans clashing and police and stewards failing to contain them.
It was the latest in several such incidents at the Hammers’ new home and Gale says it was a shame because the football has been overlooked as a result.
“The football was absolutely terrific. West Ham were brilliant last night, they were back to their best,” he told talkSPORT.
“But all you can hear this morning is about the crowd trouble, and it’s marred what was a really great game of football for West Ham.”
Gale is certainly right to lament the issues off the pitch distracting from another impressive performance from West Ham.
The win over Chelsea was their third consecutive victory, an impressive turnaround given their early season struggles.
They must now look to continue that, despite the distractions, starting with a win over Everton at Goodison Park this weekend.
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