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For the first time in as many months, Chelsea’s position in the Premier League table was threatened following a run of poor results.
The Blues seemed destined to finish in third place after falling out of the title race. However, losing to Arsenal at home last week (April 21) saw the Gunners close the gap between the two sides to just five points.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved to within two points of Chelsea when they beat Manchester United in Saturday’s early kick-off game (April 23).
Chelsea were, therefore, under pressure to respond when they faced West Ham United on Sunday (April 24). In the end, they did just enough to record a narrow 1-0 win against the Hammers.
Chelsea end three-game winless run at home
It took Tuchel's men until the 90th minute to get a breakthrough. More importantly, the result ended a run of three matches in all competitions without a win at home.
The Blues were beaten 4-1 by Brentford at Stamford Bridge on April 2 before losing 3-1 to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie (April 7).
Their poor home form was made worse by a 4-2 loss to London rivals Arsenal last week. However, Thomas Tuchel’s side finally ended their winless run at home by beating West Ham.
The Blues labored for larger parts and seemed certain to drop points until a moment of magic from Christian Pulisic secured a late win. It wasn’t a dominant display by the Blues. However, it was encouraging that they managed to dig deep to triumph even after Jorginho's penalty miss in the 88th minute.
Blues unconvincing despite win
Beating West Ham means Chelsea have restored their five-point lead over fourth-placed Arsenal but the Blues’ overall performance wasn’t convincing.
They lived dangerously and were lucky not to have conceded first after struggling to contain their opponents. The Hammers had also rested a number of their key players for their upcoming Europa League semi-final clash.
Tuchel said following the match, as quoted by Chelseafc.com:
“Games like West Ham are very hard to have a spectacular, open game against them and full credit to them. I did not expect a spectacular game in general. The first half was a bit stuck but that was a little because of the uncertainty with the latest results here at home and we grew into it. We never lost discipline or patience."
“We understood the situations a bit better when to accelerate and we joined a bit with more courage and more players when the acceleration was there. We created more chances and got the late winner. I don’t know if there’s any other way to play against them.”
Chelsea haven’t been convincing in recent weeks and despite beating West Ham, their performance was smash-and-grab rather than assured. Should they repeat such a dire display again, Tuchel's men could get punished by more quality opposition.
