West Ham hammer final nail into Chelsea's title coffin
On Derby Day weekend, there was a heated London encounter to warm the cockles on a baltic December weekend to kick things off in Saturday’s early Premier League fixture. Chelsea made the short trip across the capital to the London Stadium to face a West Ham side desperate to make amends having come so close to a positive result at Manchester City last weekend. Their welcome of Chelsea was their second in a tough run of top-flight fixtures, that culminates in a meeting with Arsenal next week.
The Hammers have been underwhelming since David Moyes’ unpopular appointment in the capital, yet came racing out of the blocks against a lethargic Chelsea side still reeling from their 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in the week that saw them finish second in their Champions League group. A passive start by the Blues backline, similar to their 3-1 win over Newcastle last week, allowed West Ham’s record signing, Marko Arnautovic, the opportunity to finish calmly past Thibaut Courtois as the Austrian finally delivered to score his first league goal for the Hammers.
Conceding early on seemed to shake Chelsea into gear, however. Last week, they turned the scoreline around by half time, but were unable to make their dominance in possession count at the London Stadium. Adrian, starting his second successive league game since displacing Joe Hart as West Ham number one, was forced into back-to-back stops, first to deny N’Golo Kante and then to turn away a low Davide Zappacosta drive from the resulting corner. Importantly, though, was that both saves came low to his left. One of Hart’s weaknesses has often been getting down to deny drives to his left, with the England international prone to conceding goals in this area.
Antonio Conte looked to turn Chelsea’s fortunes around after the interval as he introduced Pedro for the ineffective Tiemoue Bakayoko, while Victor Moses came on for Marcos Alonso, with Davide Zappacosta moving to the left, minutes later and the move almost paid dividends as the Italian cut onto this right and flashed a curling effort just wide of Adrian’s far post. As the minutes ticked closer to the 90, Alvaro Morata had arguably Chelsea’s best chance of the game after he was slipped in by Kante. The Blues frontman, who was marginally onside, blasted wide from close range when he really should have buried the opportunity.
Chelsea huffed and puffed but were unable to find that crucial equaliser as West Ham held on for a vital 1-0 win, David Moyes’ first home league win this calendar year. While the Blues dominated possession, the Hammers were good value for the victory with Moyes setting his team up perfectly to secure the three points. West Ham remained compact to frustrate the visitors and force Chelsea out wide. This was vital with Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas both in good form operating in central areas in recent weeks, but the east London side worked wonders to limit the space in front of their goal.
As a result, Chelsea were forced out wide and made to put crosses into the box, though the West Ham defence remained steadfast to clear everything thrown their way. Indeed, Winston Reid made more headed clearances (4) than any other player in the London Derby, while teammates Pablo Zabaleta and Angelo Ogbonna (both 3) followed suit. While West Ham were far from pretty, they were certainly effective, with the defence and midfield restricting Chelsea to just the two shots on target, both of which were comfortably saved by Adrian.
The West Ham defence looks far more comfortable and composed with Adrian between the sticks and it’s no coincidence that they have won four of five games the 30-year-old has started this season, that coming in last week’s 2-1 loss to City. The decision to start without a recognised striker also aided West Ham, with Moyes opting against using Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho or Chicharito from the off and instead having Michail Antonio lead the attack with Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic in support. This benefitted the latter pair tremendously, with Antonio not remaining central. With the 27-year-old drifting to the flank, Lanzini and Arnautovic were gifted the space to hurt the Blues backline and it was the duo who linked up for the Austrian’s early strike.
Arnautovic has blown more cold than hot since his big money arrival from Stoke, but today’s victory over the Blues felt like a turning point in his career in the capital. However, Arnautovic has promised to show his best time and time again in the past. The attacker would be in top form for four or five games, before his performance levels dip significantly. Crucial now will be for the 28-year-old to maintain his form ahead of a crucial run of games, but he offered plenty off the ball to keep the Chelsea defence at bay and had it not been for a minor calf issue in the second half, it’s likely the West Ham ace would have played the full 90 here given his impact out of possession.
It was a huge win for the Hammers and Moyes, who edged closer to safety with all the spoils at the London Stadium. They need to churn out similar showings to stave off relegation now, starting with the midweek welcome of Arsenal. Defeat now effectively leaves Chelsea's title defence in tatters, with the Blues 11 points behind Manchester City, who are not in action until Sunday.
