Chelsea squeezed past West Ham United to move fourth in the Premier League table on Monday evening, securing a nervy but hugely important 2-1 victory in west London.
Chelsea were looking to down their London foes on Graham Potter's return to Stamford Bridge but made hard work of their assignment during the first half. The Blues lacked intensity and ingenuity in the opening period and fell behind shortly before half-time after the returning Jarrod Bowen expertly capitalised on Levi Colwill's wayward pass.
Cole Palmer came close to finding an equaliser moments before the break with a well-placed free kick, but Alphonse Areola matched the effort with a sprawling save as Chelsea were forced to chase the game after the restart.
The Blues didn't make drastic improvements at the beginning of the second half but found themseles level in the 64th minute. Pedro Neto converted from close range following Enzo Fernandez's blocked shot, with West Ham left aggrieved after believing they should have had been awarded a free kick in the build-up and then seeing the goal given after an incredibly marginal onside call.
Buoyed by their equaliser, Chelsea soon found themselves ahead. An enormous slice of fortune favoured Enzo Maresca's side as Palmer's cross took a wicked deflection off Aaron Wan-Bissaka and looped over the head of the helpless Areola. Unfortunately for the West Ham defender, he was quickly credited with the own goal.
Chelsea pushed for a nerve-easing third in the closing stages but didn't need it as they held firm for only their second Premier League victory of the calendar year.
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Filip Jorgensen | 6.6/10 |
RB: Reece James | 7.7/10 |
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo | 7.0/10 |
CB: Levi Colwill | 7.2/10 |
LB: Marc Cucurella | 7.6/10 |
DM: Moises Caicedo | 7.5/10 |
DM: Enzo Fernandez | 7.6/10 |
RW: Noni Madueke | 7.1/10 |
AM: Cole Palmer | 7.9/10 |
LW: Jadon Sancho | 6.6/10 |
ST: Nicolas Jackson | 6.3/10 |
SUB: Marc Guiu (52' for Jackson) | 6.6/10 |
SUB: Pedro Neto (52' for Sancho) | 7.5/10 |
SUB: Christopher Nkunku (61' for Madueke) | 6.2/10 |
SUB: Malo Gusto (61' for James) | 6.5/10 |
SUB: Trevoh Chalobah (89' for Palmer) | N/A |
Subs not used: Robert Sanchez (GK), Josh Acheampong, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tyrique George.
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Alphonse Areola | 5.8/10 |
CB: Vladimir Coufal | 6.6/10 |
CB: Max Kilman | 6.2/10 |
CB: Aaron Cresswell | 5.9/10 |
RM: Aaron Wan-Bissaka | 5.3/10 |
CM: Tomas Soucek | 6.7/10 |
CM: Andy Irving | 6.4./10 |
LM: Emerson | 6.2/10 |
AM: Mohammed Kudus | 5.9/10 |
AM: Carlos Soler | 7.1/10 |
ST: Jarrod Bowen | 8.0/10 |
SUB: Konstantinos Mavropanos (71' for Coufal) | 6.5/10 |
SUB: Oliver Scarles (71' for Emerson) | 6.3/10 |
SUB: Danny Ings (77' for Soler) | 6.2/10 |
SUB: Lewis Orford (77' for Irving) | 6.3/10 |
SUB: Luis Guilherme (87' for Cresswell) | N/A |
Subs not used: Lukasz Fabianski (GK), Wes Foderingham (GK), Kaelan Casey, Guido Rodriguez.
Player of the match - Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
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