Chelsea have shelled 10 points from winning positions since Christmas, a problem so acute that the players sat down and shared some hard truths at the training ground this week. “When we go behind or concede, we need to stick together and be more of a team,” Cole Palmer said before kick-off here, and Chelsea did just that, conceding a farcical opener before hitting back with two goals in 10 second-half minutes to sink West Ham. Perhaps chasing is easier than being chased.
Chelsea’s goals were scrappy, with substitute Pedro Neto pouncing on a rebound in the 64th minute, before Aaron Wan-Bissaka diverted Cole Palmer’s cross into his own net. But after only one win in their last seven league games, this was a night for substance, not style. Graham Potter’s renewed West Ham were well drilled and perhaps deserved something from his return to Stamford Bridge. Instead, three points propelled Chelsea back above Bournemouth, Newcastle and Manchester City into fourth.
West Ham had reason to grumble about the equaliser, given how Jarrod Bowen was deliberately barged off the ball at the very start of the move, and how VAR couldn’t conclusively say whether the ball had touched Marc Guiu’s fringe on its way into the box, which would have seen the goal ruled out for offside had it been proven. The deflected winner was lucky too, but by then Chelsea had cranked up the pressure and their strength off the bench made a difference.
“We feel a little bit unlucky, we feel it was a foul on Jarrod,” Potter said. “But that’s football sometimes. They had to make a lot of substitutions which shows our performance was good.”
Maresca celebrated passionately at the full-time whistle, the manner of victory adding an extra layer of satisfaction. “They tried to frustrate us, so you need to be mentally strong,” he said. “My message at half-time was don’t change nothing, because they cannot be so intense for 90 minutes.”
While Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka and Joao Felix were heading out of the club on loan, Enzo Maresca’s chosen ones got to work on the pitch. The big team news before kick-off had been Maresca’s decision to drop the wholly unreliable Robert Sanchez and replace him with the wholly unproven Filip Jorgensen – choose your poison – and the move was broadly vindicated, as the Swedish goalkeeper did OK in the few moments he was called upon. “The good thing is we have two good keepers so we can decide,” cheered Maresca.
For West Ham, captain Bowen started his first match under Potter after fracturing his foot in December. Their recent improvement had been built upon Potter’s well-oiled back three, supported by intelligent wing-backs behind a threatening pair of No 10s, essentially the team Manchester United fans thought they were getting. But the patterns of the previous games were gone: no possession, no passing triangles, no patient build-up. West Ham gave Chelsea the ball and invited them to play.
Chelsea took up the challenge in the first half but their crosses were manfully defended by West Ham’s deep back five, containing a very Potterish web of four full-backs positioned around one centre-back, Max Kilman, with Tomas Soucek acting as bouncer at the front door.
So perversely, Chelsea’s best chances came on the counterattack, when West Ham were disorganised and open. Noni Madueke, Jadon Sancho and Enzo Fernandez all had clear sights of goal after rapid breaks up field, but all three missed the target. When they finally tested West Ham’s goal, just before half-time, Cole Palmer’s beautifully arcing free-kick sailed purposefully towards the top corner and Alphonse Areola produced a Superman dive to tip it over the crossbar, a save so good he posted it on Instagram minutes after full-time.
West Ham posed the occasional threat on the break themselves, particularly through the entertaining Mohammed Kudus, who could be found nutmegging Chelsea players on the edge of his own box one moment and then giving the ball away in midfield two minutes later, somehow looking like the most dangerous player for both teams.
And it was Kudus who forced Levi Colwill into a mistake, harrying the Chelsea defender near the touchline, who rushed his back-pass under pressure. Bowen seemed to know what was coming like he’d seen the trailer, racing in behind Chelsea’s defence to collect Colwill’s errant pass before sliding calmly past Jorgensen. West Ham fans went berserk while Potter allowed himself some little fist bumps.
But Chelsea reacted in the second half. Maresca quickly brought on Guiu and Neto, and Christopher Nkunku and Malo Gusto arrived in a second wave on the hour. They kept the tempo high and forced a tiring West Ham defence ever deeper until finally they cracked. Neto swung in a cross which may or may not have grazed Guiu’s head. Marc Cucurella kept it alive at the far post, Fernandez’s shot was blocked and Neto popped up on the corner of the six-yard box to slam the ball low under Areola.
Kudus almost restored West Ham’s lead when he headed against the post with Jorgensen rooted to the spot, but a moment later Chelsea were in front. Palmer had been growing into the game and when he dribbled down the left side of the box, Wan-Bissaka gave chase. The curse of being as good at one-on-one defending as Wan-Bissaka is that most full-backs wouldn’t have got their toe to the ball in the first place, but the defender’s effort to disrupt Palmer’s cross spooned impossibly over Areola for an own goal.
West Ham mustered a late rally and Kudus could have equalised from six yards but for a heroic block by Tosin Adarabioyo. Chelsea clung on. Maresca told his team in midweek that they had to learn how to win ugly, and this was just that. And after such a torrid run, the league table now looks a little prettier.
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