Chelsea have been given a new verdict on Ipswich Town's penalty shout that sparked the 2-0 loss in the Premier League on Monday night.

Enzo Maresca's side dropped points in a third consecutive game following a draw against Everton before Christmas and a narrow 2-1 loss at the hands of Fulham on Boxing Day. Liam Delap was awarded a penalty in the first half at Portman Road and he calmly converted from the spot.

Before the break, Joao Felix had a goal ruled out for offside, but former Blue Omari Hutchinson then made it two to Ipswich in the second half to put the result beyond doubt. Chelsea now sit 10 points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League title race, while the Merseyside outfit also have a game in hand.

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Chelsea fans were left furious on Monday night, however, as many felt Delap should not have been awarded a penalty. Delap raced onto a through ball, knocked it past Filip Jorgensen and then went down from what appeared to be minimal contact.

VAR checked the incident and confirmed the on-field decision, which then resulted in Chelsea going a goal down after 12 minutes. The verdict from ESPN's VAR expert, Dale Johnson, is that given contact is difficult to prove or disprove, they were always going to stick with the referee's decision.

"As referee John Brooks gave the penalty on the field, the VAR is trying to prove he's definitely got it wrong," the journalist wrote. "Is there really evidence of contact? Or is it just that the VAR cannot prove there wasn't any? The VAR deemed it was sufficient, though it's incredibly difficult to see.

"This wouldn't have been a penalty through VAR, there isn't the evidence that the goalkeeper definitely caught the attacker. Yet it's also hard to say with certainty that Delap wasn't clipped as the goalkeeper slid in to challenge.

"Most fans will probably feel this shouldn't be a penalty, that Delap went down too easily. Is it a penalty? Probably not. But with the way VAR works, it's unlikely to get overturned."