West Ham 0 - 1 Chelsea

West Ham 0 - 1 Chelsea

Chelsea: Eden Hazard 22




If Chelsea do indeed hoist their third Premier League title under José Mourinho’s stewardship in May then both team and manager may point to this nailbiting success across the capital as key. There were times in a blistering derby when a team who have grown used to life clear at the top, and would normally relish their ability to stifle the life from contests such as this, were forced to defend desperately with their lead feeling flimsy amid the energy and urgency whipped up by West Ham.

The game ended in a din of penalty appeals from the home support, Aaron Cresswell’s wonderous goal-line clearance from Willian on the counter-attack adding to the intensity of the drama. For Chelsea to emerge victorious from the frenzy, and with their five-point advantage retained at the summit, was a considerable achievement, and this against a team who had mustered a solitary win in their 10 previous games and whose season had apparently been on the verge of petering out prematurely. Mourinho had warned in the build-up that there would be awkward moments still to be endured in the title race, and Sam Allardyce’s side duly left them bruised but not beaten. This may end up being considered another show of strength.

Before this game, Mourinho made great play of being seen to move on from Sunday’s Capital One Cup triumph, the first trophy of his second stint at Stamford Bridge, which was celebrated with gusto on the turf and in the dressing rooms at Wembley but a success, he claimed, which had already been digested with some satisfaction by the time his team boarded their coach home. Certainly there was a need to refocus on this contest in which West Ham posed a very different threat to the league leaders. Where Spurs had rather huffed and puffed at Wembley, West Ham were quick and direct, Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho a slippery partnership pouring eagerly at backtracking opponents.

The absence of the suspended Nemanja Matic was arguably felt more keenly than ever with that pair scurrying beyond the makeshift central midfielder, Kurt Zouma, and darting at Gary Cahill and John Terry. The captain, so impressive this season, was discomforted by the forwards’ urgency and swiftly booked for dragging down Valencia as he threatened to run clear at goal. Chelsea rather creaked through those opening exchanges, the recalled Thibaut Courtois blocking Cheikhou Kouyaté’s close-range attempt with his shins and Sakho and Kevin Nolan stretching but failing to direct attempts goalwards from right-wing deliveries.

The excellent Carl Jenkinson summoned another fine centre from that flank as half-time approached, the full-back’s cross met by Sakho only for Courtois to conjure a fine reaction save and deflect the attempt away. Nolan, alone at the striker’s back, might have been better placed to generate proper power on the effort. And yet, by then, West Ham were playing catch-up having been exposed ruthlessly on the counter-attack, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fàbregas exchanging passes at pace with the Spaniard liberating Ramires. His cross was whipped across the six-yard box where Hazard appeared alone to plant his header beyond Adrián. Jenkinson and Aaron Cresswell, the deepest defenders in a ramshackle back line, appealed for offside in vain and an unlikely lead had been established.

That assistant referee’s decision was tight and may have favoured the attacker, but the hosts’ defensive organisation had clearly been disrupted by Winston Reid’s early departure with injury. Against opponents who revel in clever, probing possession around the edge of their rivals’ penalty area, a rehashed back line laboured to reimpose proper solidity even if Chelsea found clear sights of goal rare. There was home relief when Jenkinson sprinted back superbly and stuck out a left foot to choke Diego Costa’s attempt as the forward prepared to slide the leaders into a two-goal advantage, having been freed yet again by Hazard.

The Belgian was at his elusive best, flitting from flank to centre but integral whenever Mourinho’s side ventured forward, with his charge from deep inside his own half, when four home players were unable to take the ball off his instep, taking the breath away. Ramires eventually steered a shot from his pass on to the far post with those same Chelsea players combining again moments later, Adrián doing well to turn away Ramires’s header with his outstretched left boot.

Yet there was just as heavy a reliance on Hazard’s compatriot at the other end. Courtois, rested at Wembley, was stretched here as his defence heaved to contain West Ham’s frantic forays forward, the goalkeeper somehow clawing away a prodded effort from a grounded Sakho amidst the confusion provoked by Stewart Downing’s centre. When the England midfielder glided clear again to supply the forward, Courtois saved sharply down to his left with Mourinho an increasingly agitated figure in the technical area. The sight of Cahill diving in to suffocate Sakho’s attempt after the goalkeeper had spilled Valencia’s shot finally forced Mourinho into a change, with Willian coming on, but, with their own efforts limited to the break, the momentum remained too uncomfortably with the home side until the final whistle brought relief.


Source: Guardian