In a repeat of their EFL Cup draw against West Ham United, Chelsea travelled just a little over 10 miles for a traditional London derby at the London Stadium. The hosts have usually come off the worse for wear in this particular fixture and Monday night was no different as Antonio Conte’s men put up an efficient performance to secure all three points.
Also Read: EPL 2016/17: West Ham United 1-2 Chelsea, Player Ratings
Eden Hazard slotted the first goal on the back of a swift counter-attack and Diego Costa followed it up with a second soon after the second half kicked off taking advantage of a poorly defended set piece. The night was on cue to end on that pristine note for the aspiring champions till Manuel Lanzini found the space to net past Thibaut Courtois.
In what was an unusually well-disciplined game for a west London derby (except for one pitch invader) here are the five major talking points:
#1 Hammers make a good start
Slaven Bilic’ s men looked like they were keen on a repeat victory against Chelsea from the League Cup and made a promising start to the game. Their intent to put up a fight early in the game seemed to unsettle Chelsea as they struggled to maintain possession and lost out to the Hammers in the opening minutes. Robert Snodgrass looked in particularly good form as he worked the left wing and crossed in some promising deliveries.
Teaming up well with Aaron Creswell, the pair provided the Hammers with attacking options but were also constantly inaccurate. Their rhythm was eventually interrupted when Victor Moses inadvertently knocked his head back into Andy Carroll as he cleared a cross. A bleeding mess, Carroll had to go off twice for medical assistance.
West Ham, however, kept up the pressure as they were awarded a quick succession of free-kicks and corners, but again failed to make the most of their opportunities. Pedro Obiang put up a good fight against N’Golo Kante while Mark Noble looked reliable but added no depth to the game. While they dominated in the early stages of the game, they failed to bother Thibaut Courtois with no shots on target.
#2 Eden Hazard – The game changer
Chelsea looked like they had been caught out on the face of West Ham’s great start. They were seeing much less of the ball than the opposition and looked unable to work their way around them. Their passing was a little dodgy and none of their clearances seemed to get far enough with any accuracy. The course of the match changed in the 25th minute when Kante intercepted a poor pass from Noble.
The Frenchman took off like a bolt of lightning before sending Hazard on his way. The Belgian was even quicker on his feet playing a one-two with Pedro before cutting inside Obiang and slotting past Darren Randolph with blistering precision.
Chelsea’s counter-attack continued to be devastating throughout the night although they did score just one more goal. All their best chances came against the run of play. Even the corner that lead to Costa’s goal was awarded after another attempt to catch the Hammers out. Even though the home side dominated possession ever so slightly than the visitors, it was they who were more effective.
#3 Model of efficiency... almost
Once Chelsea had the lead, all the missing pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place. They pounced on every loose ball and set off on the counter. While the hosts managed to clear their lines quite regularly, they failed to move the ball back up the pitch quite as swiftly as Chelsea.
By the time Bilic’s side got their heads up to look for space, Chelsea’s back three would morph into a five with mechanical efficiency.
Finding no way through a crowded Chelsea defence, the Hammers switched back to utilising both flanks in an attempt to cross to Andy Carroll, famous for his aerial ability. However, the Blues caught on to that trick as well. Cesar Azpilicueta did a brilliant job of cutting off any threat from the former Liverpool forward in spite of his much smaller stature.
The Spaniard ensured he could not get a clear header on at least a couple of occasions while keeping him isolated for a vast majority of the night.
#4 Dream run continues for Victor Moses
Victor Moses has become a fixture in the side since Antonio Conte switched to the 3-4-3 and his performance against West Ham was another example of why Conte puts his trust in him. The 26-year-old had spent just last season loan with the Hammers but was ruthless in his disposal of them.
Combining well with Pedro on the right, he was quick to take on his opponents and chase down any ball.
However, he was at his best on Monday whilst defending. He won a header against Carroll that gave him a bloody nose and blocked a Sofiane Feghouli shot that looked destined to go in for a goal. Even with Snodgrass as a constant thorn in his side, he played one of his best games of recent times and was rewarded with an early night as he was substituted with 15 minutes left to play.
#5 Andy Carroll’s revenge
Chelsea are prone to aerial balls and Slaven Bilic had a pretty good weapon in Andy Carroll. The Blues, as it turned out, had their very own plans for the towering forward. Boxed in between Chelsea defenders with not a teammate within profitable distance, Carroll remained detached and isolated for parts of the game. It was set to be a disappointing outing for the man who had scored in both fixtures last season when he intercepted a poor pass from Azpilicueta.
Carroll must have taken more pleasure in robbing the Spaniard who had had the better of him the entire night. The Englishman found Andre Ayew down the middle and the former Swansea midfielder noted the run of Manuel Lanzini on the right to tee him up for at least a consolatory goal in injury time.
The Argentine made no mistake as he netted with a sublime shot that left Thibaut Courtois infuriated. Though the goal made no tangible difference to either side (so far), it did show that the league leaders are prone to the occasional mistake in spite of being in full control.
