EPL 2016/17: West Ham United 1-2 Chelsea, Player Ratings
Chelsea made a short trip to the Olympic stadium and returned victorious to Stamford Bridge with another three points under their belt. That puts them 10 points clear of Tottenham, who sit in second with 56 points. Despite a bright start by West Ham, Chelsea and Conte were at their ruthless best after taking the lead through Eden Hazard before Diego Costa added the second goal to put the result beyond any doubt.
Also Read: EPL 2016/17: West Ham United 1-2 Chelsea, 5 Talking Points
Manuel Lanzini’s stoppage time goal did little for the Hammers but it gave the West Ham fans (still left in the stadium) something to cheer about, on an otherwise disappointing night for Slaven Bilic’s side.
West Ham United
Darren Randolph: 4.5/10
Randolph had no chance what so ever with either goal and was left exposed time and time again by his defence. However, his positioning was questionable on both occasions.
Cheikhou Kouyate: 4/10
Playing at right-back, Kouyate was extremely lucky not to be booked for fouls on both Hazard and Luiz during the first half and spent most of the second chasing after Alonso and the Belgian.
Winston Reid: 5/10
The Kiwi defender was left with his mouth open during the counter attack in the lead up to Chelsea’s first goal and could do nothing more than watch as the ball hit the net for the second. He was subbed off for Sam Byram midway through the second half.
Jose Fonte: 4/10
The experienced centre-back should have been the rock in the West Ham defence but Fonte was anything but. Made a horrible error in the first half and was lucky that Hazard’s ball in towards Costa came to nothing.
Aaron Cresswell: 6/10
Vital to the West Ham back four, Cresswell did well against the threat of both Pedro and Victor Moses, but also showed his strengths on the attack.
Pedro Obiang: 5/10
Enjoyed the battle in the middle of the park and helped maintain possession, Obiang was exposed defensively a few too many times although he produced a good tackle to stop Pedro from having a clear chance on goal.
Mark Noble: 4/10
The West Ham captain was solid in an uncongested midfield but showed too much off the ball to Chelsea. A veteran of the Premier League, his experience should have helped the Hammers instead it did the opposite.
Sofiane Feghouli: 3/10
Feghouli offered almost nothing in the final third before being replaced by Andre Ayew. A terrible display from the Algerian international.
Manuel Lanzini: 7/10
The Argentine looked bright occasionally and made no mistake when it came to finishing his goal, but at the same time, he struggled to influence the midfield too much.
Robert Snodgrass: 6.5/10
Snodgrass started the game very well, and troubled Victor Moses time and time again but his crosses were inconsistent and his influence on the game was minimum.
Andy Carroll: 4.5/10
The big striker was handled brilliantly by the Chelsea defence and was probably affected by the early blow to his face. However, it was thanks to his pressure on the Chelsea defence that helped contribute to the consolation goal.
Substitutes:
Andre Ayew: 6.5/10
Ayew linked up well with Carroll for the goal, but otherwise came on too late to make a big difference.
Sam Byram: 5.5/10
Byram offered the Hammers some balance on the right-hand side but did next to nothing after coming on.
Edimilson Fernandes: 5/10
Came on for Noble and picked up right where the midfielder left off.
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois: 6/10
The Chelsea goalkeeper had next to nothing to do throughout the match and dealt with everything in the air. He could do nothing to stop the goal.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 6/10
The Spaniard lost possession a few times, but helped form the impressive Chelsea back-line and was on hand to clear any loose balls.
David Luiz: 7/10
Luiz played Andy Carroll game’s and beat the Englishman at it, winning the majority of the aerial duels.
Gary Cahill: 7/10
Cahill put the Hammer to the West Ham attack and made more than his share of crucial interceptions to help his side win all three points.
Victor Moses: 7.5/10
The wing-back did well in both attack and defence, winning plenty of tackles and providing the West Ham defence to do plenty with his darting runs.
Cesc Fabregas: 5/10
Not his best performance in a Blues shirt, Fabregas picked up a yellow card at the end of a rather quiet first half. He gave away the ball for West Ham’s consolation prize although he showed his quality with a few good passes.
N’Golo Kante: 7/10
Can’t say anything wrong about the former Leicester man’s performance against West Ham. He did brilliantly in the lead-up to the first goal and was his typical energetic self throughout the match. He was the first Blues player to any loose balls on the pitch.
Marcos Alonso: 6.5/10
Alonso did well when moving forward and was unlucky not to get a goal after a brilliant dribbling show towards the middle of the second half.
Pedro: 7/10
The former Barcelona man’s pace proved to be a constant threat to Cresswell and he played a brilliant one-two with Hazard for the goal. Along with the Belgian, his speed on the counter was essential.
Eden Hazard: 8/10
Hazard showed his skill on the ball along with great pace and close control before finishing with ease to open the scoring for Chelsea in the first half.
Diego Costa: 7/10
He was kept quiet by the Hammer’s defence during the first half but still managed to hound and harass them before scoring his 49th goal Premier League goal. Nearly had a second but scuffed the chance.
Substitutes:
Nemanja Matic: 6/10
Matic was subbed on for Pedro to see the game out and did exactly that.
Willan: 5.5/10
The Brazilian had nothing much to do and was brought on to rest Eden Hazard, Chelsea’s attacking intent was all but diminished by the time he walked on.
Kurt Zouma: 6/10
The defender put in a solid performance from the bench as he slowly regains 100% match fitness.