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Chelsea were hoping to rebound from last week's defeat against Manchester City in the Premier League when they welcomed their London rivals West Ham United to Stamford Bridge yesterday. Frank Lampard's men were the favourites going into the game given their brilliant form in the Premier League coupled with West Ham's recent troubles.
However, they were shocked by their London rivals at the Bridge, who grabbed all three points in the end courtesy of a second-half strike from Aaron Cresswell.
The Blues were far from their best against Manuel Pellegrini's men, and didn't show any fluidity in attack. The Hammers, on the other hand, were the much better side of the two and were deserved winners in the end.
While several players impressed us with their performances, a few failed to live up the expectations. On that note, we pick the top 3 performers from the game:
#3 Reece James
Despite the defeat, Chelsea fans will be buzzing with Reece James' performance. The English full-back, who starred against Valencia during the midweek, produced another terrific performance against West Ham United at Stamford Bridge.
The 19-year-old is renowned for his attacking prowess and he caused serious problems down Chelsea's right-hand side with his pace, and displaying a remarkable ability to get past his opponents.
He completed nine dribbles during the game, which was more than any other player on the pitch. The Englishman delivered some great crosses into the box and was unlucky not to come away with an assist in the end.
However, his defensive frailties were also on show against the Hammers as he was easily beaten by Cresswell for the goal.
Also Read: 3 reasons why Chelsea lost 1-0 to West Ham United
#2 Fabian Balbuena
Fabian Balbuena returned to the West Ham United backline against Chelsea and produced an astute defensive performance at the Bridge. The 28-year-old did an excellent job of frustrating Olivier Giroud for a majority of the game, and threw himself at every Chelsea cross to successfully cut the supply for the forwards.
His heroics helped West Ham keep their first clean sheet in the Premier League since their 2-0 victory over Manchester United back in September.
The Paraguay international looked rock solid alongside Angelo Ogbonna at the back. The two could form a formidable partnership at the back going into the busy festive period.
#1 David Martin
David Martin made his first-ever start for West Ham United against Chelsea and produced a Man of the Match performance against his London rivals. The 33-year-old was brought in for the struggling Roberto, and he didn't put a foot wrong on his debut at one of the most daunting venues in the Premier League.
Despite having little to do for the majority of the match, the shot-stopper stood up to the task when called upon in certain stretches of the game. He made six saves against the Blues and came away with a clean sheet at the end of 90 minutes.
With Lukasz Fabianski's injury and Roberto's recent poor showing, Martin looks like the safest pair of hands available at Manuel Pellegrini's disposal.
