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LIVE BLOG
90+4min: FULL TIME. 0-0.
90+3min: Snodgrass gets a yellow for a professional foul on Willian out wide. Willian swings the ball in from the free kick but it doesn’t make it past the near post. Chelsea recollect and find Hazard in a similar position as Willian’s a minute ago, but he hits is cross/shot straight at Fabianski.
90+1min: Willian’s in but he goes for goal from a tight angle instead of just picking out Morata open in the middle.
90min: Four minutes added on as Barkley tests Fabianski. He’s up to the task and tips it out for a corner.
89min: Morata scores an offside goal for the second straight week. Now he just needs to score one that isn’t ruled out.
88min: Horrible cross from Hazard sums up his day.
85min: Noble replaced by Carlos Sanches as West Ham make their final change as well. Just before, Hazard half-chance went awry after he was crowded out at the top of the box.
81min: Willian storms down the left and finds Kanté with a low cross, but his shot is high and wide. Needed to do better.
78min: Final change for Chelsea is Barkley for Kovačić.
77min: West Ham miss the best chance of the game as Snodgrass finds Yarmolenko wide open on the front post, running off the back shoulder of Alonso. Yarmolenko’s header goes wide of the post with Arrizabalaga able to do little else but watch and pray.
75min: Kovačić wins a free kick once again; this time David Luiz has a go, but Fabianski holds on to the bouncing ball.
74min: Felipe Anderson makes way for Robert Snodgrass. Still scoreless, the game.
69min: And Rüdiger just injured himself and has immediately asked for a sub. Gary Cahill makes his season debut.
66min: Willian finds Hazard with a wonderful ball, but he chooses the backheel for Morata instead of taking the shot himself. West Ham clear. Chelsea then work another chance from the subsequent corner, and Morata’s point blank shot is saved by Fabianski’s face.
65min: A change of striker a side as Morata replaces Giroud and Lucas Perez replaces Michael Antonio.
63min: Kovačić is fouled by Rice about 35 yards out; Willian takes the free kick but West Ham defend and clear well. Jorginho then tries one of his chipped balls again, but no one’s there for Giroud’s knock down.
60min: Chelsea set up camp in the final third, but are unable to create a chance.
57min: Willian finds a great cross, but no one else is in the box and it goes begging across the face of goal. At the other end, Rüdiger defends very well 1-v-1 against Antonio.
55min: Willian’s latest corner finds David Luiz, but he misjudges his jump and puts his free header well over. Should’ve done better.
54min: Nice build-up and passing from West Ham finds Masuaku in a great crossing position. David Luiz defends Yarmolenko well enough on the end of it.
53min: Willian takes the subsequent free kick; Dean calls a foul in West Ham’s favor amid a tussle in the box despite Rüdiger getting pulled down.
52min: West Ham break, but Giroud tracks back and helps to stop it. Chelsea’s turn to pour forward, find Willian on the right and he’s taken out by Felipe Anderson, who gets a yellow.
50min: Kanté earns himself a yellow card for stopping Felipe Anderson breaking forward. A bit ironic, given the non-calls on Hazard. West Ham work a chance for Yarmolenko, but his long shot goes over.
47min: Jorginho’s lazy, poor ball to Azpilicueta is cut out by Felipe Anderson, but Chelsea recover well. Hazard then tries to break forward through the middle, but Dean doesn’t call any of the multiple fouls before he loses the ball.
46min: Back underway. No changes for either side.
45min: No added time. HALF-TIME. 70% possession for Chelsea (Jorginho alone with almost 100 touches), but West Ham had the best chance. Chelsea will have to do a bit better in the second 45.
44min: Chelsea almost grab the lead before half-time as Hazard bounds forward on the left, finds Willian on the right, and his cross finds Kanté’s head in the middle, but his effort is just wide of the far post.
43min: Both teams appear ready for half time.
37min: Game hits a bit of a lull. Yarmolenko battles with Alonso before Hazard gets stood up by a couple defenders.
32min: Hazard cuts through half the team before he’s taken out just as he’s about to enter the penalty area. No call by Dean. Replays show there was plenty there for at least one foul.
31min: Big save by Arrizabalaga! Chelsea commit both full backs forward but Jorginho’s pass is cut out and the counter is launched through Yarmolenko. 2-v-2 with Antonio on David Luiz and Rüdiger. David Luiz corrals Yarmolenko, but the ball still finds Antonio whose shot draws the big save.
KEPA pic.twitter.com/uvj8JpekIK
— Ji-faisall (@faysal_alutiby) September 23, 2018
29min: Chelsea lose the ball a couple times and Felipe Anderson beats Azpilicueta to find Michail Antonio, but his shot goes high. Chelsea were scrambling desperately there.
27min: The Sun has broken through the clouds, but Chelsea have not found the breakthrough yet.
26min: Willian wins a free kick in a decent position. He swings the ball from it, almost finding Rüdiger. West Ham’s attempted clearance is blocked by Kovačić, but his shot is blocked in turn by West Ham.
23min: Chelsea work the ball around before a lovely chipped ball from Jorginho finds Giroud in the box. He gets his spectacular half-turn left volley all wrong however.
22min: Willian’s hopeful long-range effort goes well wide.
20min: Chelsea find themselves stretched after Hazard loses out on a long-ball and West Ham take advantage through Felipe Anderson, wide open on the left. David Luiz with the crucial intervention once again.
18min: Chelsea lose the ball after a couple minutes of unimaginative possession and West Ham break. David Luiz covers in the nick of time.
15min: A third corner after another Azpi cross is blocked out. Hazard’s turn to take; Diop beats Rüdiger to the header. Chelsea recover the ball, work it to the other side for Alonso, his cross finds Kanté but his header is well off the mark.
13min: Chelsea win another corner after Willian’s cross is blocked. He takes it short after a fair bit of deliberation, working the ball to Kanté via Hazard; Fabianski catches his cross without much trouble.
12min: Hazard has a go with his left foot from a nice bit of back-heeling from Willian, but Fabianski saves assuredly once again.
11min: Rüdiger tries his now customary 30-yard effort; Fabianski catches and holds on.
9min: First corner goes to Chelsea after Azpi’s cross is cut out before it could reach Giroud. Willian takes and finds Giroud, but his side-footed effort is straight at the goalkeeper on the bounce.
7min: West Ham hold a bit of possession, encouraging the home crowd. Kanté blocks a Felipe Anderson long range effort. A Zabaleta air kick instead of a cross froma promising position ends their next attack.
5min: Chelsea set up shop early, but are unable to work a clear opening. West Ham break the other way, but Chelsea recover well. Chelsea then break back, but Hazard is called offside just as he finds Giroud in space.
KICK-OFF: Chelsea, in yellow, get us underway with a long ball down the left that’s headed out for a throw.
Chelsea started the weekend at the top of the table and will finish the weekend no lower than third after both Liverpool and Manchester City recorded very easy wins yesterday.
Can the Blues keep the early pace set by the two Premier League favorites, win a sixth match in a row (and seven in all competitions) and keep Sarri-ball rolling rolling rolling? West Ham away hasn’t been the happiest of fixtures in recent years.
Here we go.
West Ham starting lineup (4-1-4-1):
Fabianski | Masuaku, Balbuena, Issa Diop, Zabaleta | Rice | Felipe Anderson, Noble, Obiang, Yarmolenko | Antonio.
Substitutes from: Adrian, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Snodgrass, C. Sanchez, Fredericks, Lucas Perez.
Chelsea starting lineup (4-3-3):
Arrizabalaga | Alonso, David Luiz, Rüdiger, Azpilicueta | Kovačić, Jorginho, Kanté | Hazard, Giroud, Willian
Substitutes from: Caballero, Cahill, Fabregas, Barkley, Moses, Zappacosta, Morata.
Date / Time: Sunday, September 23, 2018, 13:30 BST; 8:30am EDT; 6pm IST
Venue: London Stadium, Stratford, London
Referee: Mike Dean
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); NBCSN, Telemundo (USA); Star Sports Select HD2 (India); elsewhere
Streaming online: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); Hotstar (India)
Be excellent to each other.