Premier League 2021-22: Chelsea 1-0 West Ham United: 3 Factors which stood out
Chelsea beat West Ham United 1-0 in a Premier League match at Stamford Bridge in London on Sunday, April 24.
Christian Pulisic scored the only goal of the match in the 90th minute. The win propelled the Blues to 65 points from 32 matches. They are now five points ahead of fourth-placed Arsenal with a match in hand.
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West Ham United, on the other hand, remain seventh in the league table, a couple of points adrift of sixth-placed Manchester United. West Ham United still have some significant work to do to secure a top-six finish and ensure participation in next season’s Europa League.
On that note, let’s take a look at the three factors that stood out in today’s match:
#1 Chelsea dominated proceedings early on with N’Golo Kante driving them
Quite expectedly, Chelsea started the match strongly and dominated the proceedings early on. The Blues started with a 3-4-1-2 formation with the German duo of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner upfront.
Chelsea were also missing regular starters like Antonio Rudiger, Reece James and Andreas Christensen through injuries. As a result, they started with a back three comprising of Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevor Chalobah.
The home side had around 80% ball possession during the first 10-15 minutes and dictated terms in the midfield. Kante played box-to-box and was frequently the ball carrier for the Blues. Meanwhile, Jorginho stayed deep and spread the play with his intelligent passing.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek started in an unfamiliar position at right wing-back. He delivered some crosses into the box and also managed to enter it through the inside-right channel.
However, the West Ham United back three stayed firm and continued to thwart the Chelsea attackers. The Blues had to wait till the 18th minute to earn their first corner.
#2 Chelsea lacked incisiveness in the final third as West Ham United attacked sporadically in the first half
For all their dominance in midfield, the Blues did not have anything to show for in terms of scoring goals in the first half. Havertz was mobile throughout the first 45 minutes and kept switching positions frequently. He moved to the right flank at times to combine with Loftus-Cheek.
Werner had an indifferent first 25-30 minutes and moved to the left flank more frequently as the match progressed.
Mason Mount, playing in the gap behind the two forwards, could not provide much in terms of creativity. The Blues could not register a single shot on target in the first half. They managed to get the ball into the final third repeatedly, but lacked incisiveness and clinical approach thereafter.
As the first half progressed, Alonso kept moving inside into a more central position to increase numbers in the central areas. However, he was unable to trouble the West Ham United defense.
West Ham United rested a few regulars, including midfielder Declan Rice, ahead of their Europa League semi-final clash with Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday. The Hammers could only attack in patches.
Said Benrahma troubled the Chelsea defense at times with his aggressive pressing and slippery runs. Andriy Yarmolenko was caught in an offside position on a few occasions while trying to break free.
However, Edouard Mendy did not have much to do in the Chelsea goal as the Blues finished the first half with 70% ball possession.
#3 Chelsea increased the intensity of their attacks in the second half and got a last-gasp winner
The Blues increased the intensity of their attacks as the second half began and frequently had more numbers inside the opposition half. Werner’s shot from inside the box was blocked brilliantly by Dawson. Lukasz Fabianski saved shots from Kante and Chalobah.
The work-rate of a tiring Kante dropped somewhat in the second half, but Jorginho continued to play intelligent forward passes into the final third. Mount also moved to the left flank to combine with an overlapping Alonso. Most of Chelsea's attacks in the second half were made through the left and inside-left channels.
West Ham United had more ball possession in the second half, but failed to test Mendy properly. Yarmolenko got an opportunity to put his side ahead, but the Ukrainian’s shot was well saved by the Chelsea goalkeeper.
As the match progressed, Thomas Tuchel decided to introduce Romelu Lukaku, Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech in place of Havertz, Werner and Loftus-Cheek respectively.
Lukaku had an impact on the match minutes later. A long aerial ball was played to Thiago Silva, who headed it forward for Lukaku. The Belgian striker beat Dawson, his marker, with exceptional speed and was pulled back inside the box by the latter. The referee pointed to the spot and Dawson was shown a red card in the 86th minute. However, the usually reliable Jorginho failed to convert from the spot as his feeble shot went straight to Fabianski.
Just as the match seemed to be veering towards a draw, the tireless Alonso went into an overlap again and played a cross into the West Ham United box to Pulisic. The American took the shot first time and managed to beat Fabianski.
It was Pulisic’s seventh goal of the season and enough to secure all three points for the home side.
The match-winning combo! 🔗 https://t.co/CEzuou9GPc