Chelsea still can’t do it against West Ham

Chelsea no longer had the right to make mistakes. After recent unconvincing outings despite a “galactic” winter transfer window, the Blues were forced to take the three points against West Ham (17th) this Saturday, at the start of the 23rd day of the Premier League. And what better than a London derby to show the eyes of the Premier League that their recruitment is (finally) bearing fruit. Graham Potter had also decided to field five rookies at the London Stadium (Felix, Madueke, Mudryk, Fernandez and Badiashile).

After a good start, Thiago Silva’s teammates thought they had opened the scoring, but Joao Félix was logically flagged offside (9th). A meeting that started badly for the Hammers, who lost their playmaker, Lucas Paqueta, following a shoulder injury (14th). The Blues were quick to capitalize on their domination with Félix’s first goal in his new colors – validated this time – after a sumptuous pass from Enzo Fernandez (0-1, 16th). Ultra-dominant in the first 20 minutes, the visitors made the break thanks to Kai Havertz… but he was once again whistled offside (23rd).

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Totally overwhelmed, the proteges of David Moyes nevertheless equalized against the run of play by a former home, Emerson (1-1, 28th). An equalizer that would redistribute the cards, in a much more balanced confrontation. Still as hard-hitting offensively, the Blues stumbled on Lukasz Fabianski after a shot from Noni Madueke (35th). If the first half hour was played at an interesting pace, the intensity fell until halftime.

Chelsea clueless in the second half

The second period restarted at the same tempo, a little slower. Grouped in their half of the field, the partners of Declan Rice completely suffered the meeting with a possession totally in favor of the residents of Stamford Bridge (71%). Despite the monopoly of the ball, the club from the south-west of the British capital could no longer find the fault in the wall of the Irons. The latter even found a second wind in the last quarter of an hour. But Havertz once again showed himself to be the most dangerous among his team with a diving header out of the frame (75th). Author of a good entry, Ben Chilwell brought speed to his team without however making the difference (78th). The Hammers thought they had made the perfect hold-up in money-time but Tomas Soucek’s goal was canceled by VAR (82nd).

A new poor performance for Chelsea, which has a third consecutive draw in the league and remains ninth, 10 points from fourth place. West Ham for his part does not lose, but remains within reach of the teams in the red zone (17th).