West Ham Sink Abraham-less Chelsea
Chelsea slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the Stamford Bridge to a daunting West Ham side.
The Blues eased off the pressure off Manuel Pellegrini who would have been out of London had the Hammers conceded defeat once more. They are on a winless run of
Chelsea boss, Frank Lampard made a bold choice to rest Ngolo Kante, Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta and paid dearly for it.
For West Ham, Michail Antonio was given the nod ahead of Sebastian Haller. Antonio played upfront as a lone striker who used his build to take out Chelsea’s centre-backs.
The Blues simmered quietly for a while, like they were on a cruise and in no hurry to get to their destination. Mason Mount though showed few signs of promise, as always.
Their closest came in the 21st minute via a Reece James deflected shot which swirled to kiss just outside of the post.
Antonio should have given the visitors the lead minuted later but could only head the ball into the safe hands of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Blues attacks were muted and flat disrupted by the clumsy touches of France forward, Olivier Giroud who hasn’t featured in over seven games for the Blues.
Giroud was simply out of touch and Lampard must have been missing his first team striker Tammy Abraham who has been influential in all their games so far.
Lampard was furious when West Ham took the lead after the restart. It was a fantastic goal by Aaron Cresswell after the fullback ran to meet a cut by Pablo Fornals then snapped a hard shot into the far corner and beyond the reach of Kepa.
It was such a sore way to lose. The fact that they did so at the Stamford Bridge makes it even more depressing for fans of the West London club.
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
