EPL: West Ham stun Chelsea

West Ham dealt a massive blow to Chelsea’s title ambitions as the Hammers edged past their London neighbours in a match that ended 3-2 in favour of them. 

Thomas Tuchel made four changes from the team  that won at Vicarage Road midweek.

Reece James, Jorginho, Hakim Ziyech, and Kai Havertz were the new names in the starting XI, but Romelu Lukaku was left on the bench. 

Ziyech grabbed the winner for Chelsea against Watford and the Moroccan attempted to bring his team an early lead.

But, his shot lacked the intensity to make Lukas Fabianski worried at the West Ham goal.

Thiago Silva on the mark

Chelsea built on the momentum and reaped the reward in the 23rd minute when Thiago Silva’s thumping header from a Mason Mount corner found the back of the net. 

In the early stages, it seemed evident that West Ham’s winless run would stretch to four matches as the home side failed to have a meaningful impact on the game till then. 

Vladimir Coufal almost leveled the score against the run of play.

But it was Silva who frustrated David Moyes’s side again, this time with a fantastic goal line clearance. 

Lanzini levels

West Ham did bounce back with a Manuel Lanzini penalty in the 40th minute.

Eduoard Mendy, who had been so reliable under the Chelsea goal bar this season,  made an uncharacteristic mess while dealing with a Jorginho backpass and gave away a penalty fouling an onrushing Jarrod Bowen. 

However, the visitors were still able to go down the tunnel with a lead as Mason Mount struck on the cusp of interval. 

Hakim Ziyech put in a beautiful cross inside the West Ham box and Mount magnificently launched a volley to make it 2-1 for the Blues. 

West Ham suffered another setback as an injured Ben Johnson had to make way for Arthur Masauku.

Chelsea also lost Kai Havertz to injury as Lukaku came off the bench in the second half. 

West Ham make stunning comeback

A more spirited West Ham team walked into the pitch in the second half and they drew the scores level only ten minutes after the restart.

Vladimir Coufal made another menacing run through the flank and sent an inch-perfect pass on Bowen’s path.

Bowen did justice to the quality of the ball as he buried it at the bottom corner of the Chelsea net. 

In the 75th minute, Chelsea came close to chasing the game for the first time. But, Bowen could not apply a quality finish to a dangerous Michail Antonio pass. 

But, Chelsea’s relief was short-lived as Mendy suffered another horror moment on goal, allowing an Arthur Masauku goal to go in. 

West Ham, on the other hand, strengthened their position in fourth, opening a four points gap with fifth placed Arsenal.