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A derby of some sorts, every clash between West Ham and their illustrious opponents in blue always promises some action, crunching tackles, controversy and to a certain extent, Saturday's meeting didn't disappoint.
With regards to the line-ups, the first glance at West Ham's starting 11 might have hinted at a team that was completely non-serious about going at Chelsea with the omission of Andre Ayew, Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez from the starting line-up. If you thought that, however, you'd have been sorely mistaken.
West Ham forced the issue from the start and placed themselves in a comfortable position with a goal by Marko Arnautovic in the 7th minute, having only to defend and see out their lead till the end.
Without any further ado, here are the 5 takeaways from the match.
#5 West Ham can defend
West Ham were absolutely resolute at the back. They went into the game with defenders Winston Reid, Aaron Cresswell and Angelo Ogbonna. From the get-go, these three were solid at defence.
They stood their ground, allowing Chelsea to press, perhaps unimaginatively, through the flanks and could see that killer pass coming from a mile away - always standing their guard and ready to nullify any attempts.
It should be noted that as the game went on, the West Ham back line seemed to lose their heads, giving away silly fouls and in the process, conceding unnecessary yellow cards.
Amazingly, despite six players in Reid, Obiang, Cresswell, Masuaku, Arnautovic and keeper Adrian being shown yellow, none of them got sent off.
Whether this is thanks to the club bringing on David Moyes as their coach or not, time will tell.
#4 Chelsea need to consolidate at the back
It seems like with the high pressing attacking football Premier League teams favour at the moment, the back 4 formation is out of fashion. Everyone wants to play with 3 centre-backs but as with many things, this only works when it is executed properly.
Today, Chelsea went with a back 3 of Azpilicueta, Christensen and Cahill. Although no one would argue with Cahill's inclusion, Azpilicueta isn't trained to play at the centre of defence and rarely does so. Christensen is still learning his trade and one could argue that some experience (through game time) is required on his part to properly fill in the role and operate seamlessly in that formation.
Chelsea were cut apart time and time again both through the middle and at the flank by West Ham and perhaps if their opponents were more decisive, the game might just have ended more than just 1-0.
#3 Arnautovic is a hard worker (or at least can be one)
On one occasion when the camera panned to show Marko Arnautovic, one of the commentators made a statement along the lines of "now this is the kind of shift the West Ham supporters know Arnautovic can put in, and expect him to". This sums up his game perfectly.
He was dogged from the start, forcing the issue with every turnover. Even in the form in which his goal came, he held off a Chelsea defender and did a one-two pass with one of his teammates, setting himself right in the box and finessing a side-footer past Courtois in goal. Today was him making a statement and he did so with strength and conviction.
After his goal as well, he fell back regularly and helped defend Chelsea's attacks. He was also integral in the midfield tussle, ensuring that Chelsea lost the ball more than a few times.
#2 Bakayoko is a non-starter
Ah, Tiemoue Bakayoko. The French midfielder was brought in from Monaco in a move that should have meant the solidification of Chelsea's defense, but alas, the opposite has happened.
He was very lack luster today and barely made a contribution, let alone an impact on the game. Attacks flew past him in defensive midfield time and time again and any neutral would be forgiven for thinking he wasn't in the pitch throughout the first half. He was promptly substituted for Pedro at the start of the second. Manchester United fans must be euphoric.
Don't let my words tell the whole story, here's twitter erupting:
#1 Either Pedro or Willian MUST be on the pitch at all times
Chelsea lacked bite last night, there's no way to sugarcoat it. Throughout the first half, their play was reminiscent of Manchester United in the 14/15 season; work the ball from side to side, play crosses into the box and hope for the best. Their attacks were so easy to read, it seemed almost too good to be true for the West Ham back three.
From the outside looking in, this seemed to stem from the absence of both Pedro and Willian on the pitch. The stark difference when these two were put on in the 46th minute and 64th minute respectively was frighteningly clear. Chelsea could muster up meaningful attacks (based on the wit of these two) and actually had a sniff or two at goal afterwards.
Conclusion
This by no means takes anything away from a West Ham side that were unbreakable at the back last night. They played with a confidence that betrayed their positioning on the league table and saw out an incredible win against top-tier opposition in Chelsea.
