Chelsea 0-1 West Ham, Premier League: Post-match reaction

Facing 17th-place West Ham at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard decided to give rest to some of his key players, and give a chance for second-fiddle ones to shine. But that might not have been the correct decision, as Chelsea ended the match as losers in the 1-0 scoreline in favour of West Ham.

We were quick to hold control in the first minutes of the match, with the only “scare” coming from a cross badly finished by West Ham’s jack-of-all-trades, Michail Antonio. Early on, the Blues looked keen on giving goalkeeper David Martin, in his first ever match as a Hammer, a trial by fire.

But it was West Ham who got the best chance of the first half. Robert Snodgrass fed Antonio with a cross in the box that resulted in a powerful header. Fortunately for us, Kepa Arrizabalaga was quick to react and stop disaster from happening.

Then came the second half, where all began to go down the drain. A potential penalty call in our favour was not given, and West Ham opened the scoring with Aaron Cresswell only a minute after VAR’s decision.

Things could have gotten worse after a weird corner play that had Kurt Zouma scoring an own goal, after clashing for the ball with Antonio. Thankfully it was overturned by VAR, who saw the West Ham player’s arm “controlling” the ball towards the goal.

Changes in Chelsea players via subs, and tactics did not yield anything positive for the hosts. West Ham just kept tight at the back, and carried themselves to their first win in nine matches.

• Five changes made from the starting eleven that faced Valencia midweek: Fikayo Tomori returns in place of Andreas Christensen, Emerson over César Azpilicueta (with Reece James as our right-back), Mason Mount in for N’Golo Kanté, Pedro substituting Willian, and Olivier Giroud filling in for Tammy Abraham.
• Pedro and Giroud make their first Chelsea start since September 28 and August 18, respectively. Neither did enough to justify that opportunity.
• It did not take long for us to get the Pulisic as center-forward experiment going. Hope the results are better than what we got with Eden Hazard!
• Subs are Willian for Pedro, Kanté for Jorginho, and Callum Hudson-Odoi for Giroud.
• Next up: Aston Villa at the Bridge for the Premier League.
• KTBFFH.

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