Chelsea Back to the winning ways in Premier League on Saturday when they finish 2-1 upstream win end West Ham United at Stamford Bridge.
A slow first half saw very little creation from either side. While Chelsea held most of the ball, most of their attack was too cautious and easy to defend from West Ham’s perspective.
Jarrod Bowen started the second half strong with some direct play that allowed him to get a cross from the touchline after beating Marc Cucurella, though that failed to ignite the home team, who continued to be frustrated by Irons’ defence. Thomas Tuchel reacted to the hour mark by introducing Mason Mount and Armando Brojaonly to find that his team was leading 1-0 just minutes after Edouard Mendyhis punch is directed at Declan Ricewho have supported Michael Antonio for the opener.
Chelsea restore parity 16 minutes after substitution Ben Chilwell direction of the ball Lukasz Fabianski from a tight angle, and the 25-year-old joined again after he cut the ball back for Kai Havertzwho gave the Blues the lead.
West Ham thought they had a late equalizer when Maxwell Cornet The ball into the net after Mendy’s slot, only VAR replay showed Bowen was concluded to have fouled the keeper seconds before the end to give Chelsea all three points in front of the home crowd. surname.
Decision, considered “notorious” of West Ham manager David Moyes after the game, will linger for a while in the minds of away fans. “I was surprised that VAR sent the referee to watch. I think even when he was on TV, there was no way he would overturn it. It was a ridiculously bad decision. The referee should have made it. responsible, there’s no excuse for that not to be a goal.
“I’ve lost faith in the people who are putting it on VAR. I can’t see how the goal isn’t given.”
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Positive
One of the few positives from Chelsea’s performance that day was how they controlled the game for most of the game against a pragmatic West Ham. It’s important to be able to make Premier League games, and they did that today with a little help from VAR.
Negative
Tuchel’s side did not perform enough in the attacking areas causing their quality in the last third to fall short because of too much game time. Mendy also lacks confidence when asked to handle high-pressure situations.
Manager Rating (out of 10)
Thomas Tuchel, 6 years old – A solid defensive effort, as is often the case at Chelsea but, for a team looking to qualify for the Champions League, Tuchel’s team selection looked too pragmatic against a West Ham always looking to defend from deep. . The introduction of Chilwell turned out to be a great decision from the Blues manager.
Player Rating (1-10; 10 = best, players referred after 70 minutes are not ranked)
GK Edouard Mendy, 4 – The Chelsea keeper rarely had to deal with much during the game and that may have affected his concentration with a well-placed clearance from Rice, who set up West Ham for the opener. number. A questionable match also saw Mendy put the ball out to Cornet for a potential equalizer, only for goal disallowed after a VAR review.
DF Kalidou Koulibaly7 – Koulibaly reacted quickly to development problems on the left side of the defence, with Senegal international quickly helped Cucurella as he advanced.
DF Thiago Silva7 – An assured performance from the experienced centre-back, who seemed unlikely to fall out of second gear as he continued to deal with West Ham attacks.
DF Wesley Fofana6 – Chelsea’s new £75m centre-back looked unscathed on his Premier League debut for Chelsea, although that was partly due to West Ham’s lack of future promise. The 21-year-old passes the ball well in the midfield, and he also finds the right moments to chase the ball past the Irons forward line.
MF Marc Cucurella, 6 – Cucurella looks forward to moving forward when he can, although he has struggled to make an impact having found himself in senior positions. Substituted by Chilwell in the 72nd minute.
MF Mateo Kovacic6 – The Croatia The international has always wanted to play offensively with his passes, but can’t seem to find a way to play regularly through the West Ham defence.
MF Conor Gallagher7 – Gallagher wants to step up and take the No 10 spot, and he shows a lot of intent to get Chelsea on the right track. Gallagher’s work rate at both ends of the pitch was also outstanding, in one situation taking a corner before stopping the counter-attack himself.
MF Ruben Loftus-Cheek6 – Loftus-Cheek rarely gets the wrong pass, but much of his work is safe as he finds ways to pass the ball to the more creative players around him.
MF Reece James6 – The England The international lit up most of the game as he managed to beat his man on the right flank. He can count himself lucky after a bad header to own an own goal was scored by VAR.
FW Raheem Sterling7 – Sterling worked hard to find space in the passes but his teammates couldn’t get the ball enough for him. He was widely regarded as Chelsea’s most efficient player as the Blues led 1-0, with his crosses from wide positions questioning the West Ham defence.
FW Christian Pulisic7 – The US national team star has run active channels for Chelsea and can help link many of his team’s most promising attacks. The 23-year-old is direct to the ball when in possession, but he could have been helped by better movement from his teammates.
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Armando Broja (Gallagher, 61′), 6 – Broja saw his attempt blocked by Lukasz Fabianski, denying an immediate equalizer for Chelsea.
Mason Mount (Pulisic, 61′), 6 – Mason Mount looked set to play quickly when introduced, and he also took up space to give Raheem Sterling more possession.
Kai Havertz (Kovacic, 72′), N/R – The Germany The international made some clever runs that appeared to connect with Raheem Sterling’s passes, and it was from a cross that saw Havertz put Chelsea ahead at the last minute.
Ben Chilwell (Cucurella, 72′), Not applicable – A quick collision from the bench helped Ben Chilwell score the equalizer with a delicate touch past Fabianski before setting up the winning goal.
Jorginho (Loftus-Cheek, 83′), Not applicable – Launched in the final stages of the game, helping to improve Chelsea’s tempo and pace from midfield.
