Chelsea took on West Ham United at home as Thomas Tuchel’s side looked to bounce back from their disappointing midweek defeat to Southampton.
Despite five changes being made to the team that started against the Saints, Tuchel’s men once again struggled to create anything of purpose throughout large parts of the game. It was, in truth, an incredibly boring match to watch and, barring two moments of brilliance from Chilwell, was a performance that could have and should have resulted in more dropped points. Nevertheless, the Blues (looking at you, Reece James and Edouard Mendy) rode their luck to come out as the unlikely winners of the contest. Here are the lessons learnt from CFC 2-1 West Ham.
Poor Selection Choices
First of all, simply to set the stage, it is important to recognise that the Blues were incredibly poor on the day. This was a team that looked lethargic, out-of-sorts and seemingly unencumbered by the fact that they had just lost in humiliating fashion to a Southampton side that many have earmarked to be relegation candidates this season. The problems began immediately with the starting eleven.
The decision to start with a front two of Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling was bizarre, to say the least. Standing at 1.77m and 1.70m respectively, and having to come up against a West Ham side characterised by their height and physicality, it should hardly be any surprise that Chelsea were unable to establish any presence within the opposition box.
This was a weakness that was made even more obvious every time James or Marc Cucurella chose to put hanging crosses into the box. Moreover, with West Ham opting to sit deeper and hit Chelsea on the break, Sterling and Pulisic did not have the necessary space in behind to exploit. It was a frankly puzzling state of affairs and the team’s offensive play constantly fizzled out into nothingness as a consequence.
Considering that Kai Havertz is out of form, it was understandable that Tuchel would have wanted to switch things up post-Southampton. However, the decision to leave out both Havertz and Armando Broja did not pay any dividends for reasons that should have been known to the German coach. Tuchel has a variety of attacking options to choose from and he has to learn to play them to their strengths if he is to have any chance of bring the best out of the Chelsea’s offensive players.
Chelsea got incredibly lucky
It was a tiny miracle in itself that Chelsea were able to come away with anything from this match, let alone all three points. Apart from the fact that the performance by the home side was ill-deserving of any reward, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) came to Chelsea’s assistance at a critical junction of the match. Having just scored through Kai Havertz in the 88th-minute, Chelsea looked to have turned the game around to secure an undeserved win against the Hammers.
That was, indeed, a cruel outcome for West Ham who had struck the post just moments earlier and reinforced by expected goals (xG) statistics after the match that had Chelsea recording only 0.88 expected goals (xG) as compared to West Ham’s 1.22. Nevertheless, the home crowd went wild and their celebrations thereafter were indicative of the prevailing thought that as far as the game was considered, it was pretty much game, set and match. However, just two minutes after what was seemingly the winner, a loose back pass from James put Jarrod Bowen in on goal. Mendy came out to claim the loose ball but only succeeded at parrying it straight out to substitute Maxwel Cornet who duly rifled the ball into the top right hand corner of the goal to make it 2-2. It was no less than West Ham had deserved, and the dejected look on many of the Chelsea players had made it abundantly clear that even they thought that the goal had been a legitimate one.
However, if Havertz’s earlier goal was deemed to have been somewhat brutal on David Moyes’ side, what followed can only be said to be a thousand times worse. Jarrod Bowen’s boot lightly glancing off Mendy’s shoulder when the Englishman had initially been put through on goal was judged to have been enough contact to result in Cornet’s equaliser being chalked off. It was an incredibly harsh decision and as the full-time whistle blew, Chelsea heaved a collective sigh of relief whilst David Moyes was left stomping his feet at what could have, and in all honesty, should have been.
Benjamin James Chilwell
With one goal and one assist in 28 minutes of play, Chilwell’s introduction into the match was undeniably game-changing. Bringing industry and an attacking threat down the left side of the Chelsea attack that had otherwise been absent for large parts of the game, Chilwell was the team’s much-needed catalyst to get going again after Antonio had opened the scoring 9 minutes earlier. While Chilwell’s cross for Havertz’s winner was exquisite, his goal, in particular, was simply outstanding.
It was a goal that would not have looked out of place in a Youtube video titled “Neymar Jr: Best Goals and Skills”, such was the deftness of touch and quality of finish that was on display. It was a genuinely incredible piece of skill and a timely reminder to all Chelsea fans of what the Englishman can offer. To be forced to sit on the sidelines with a cruciate ligament injury for a period of 10 months is not easy for any professional athlete. Add to that the worry of not being able to return as a similar calibre of player and the fear that the club have effectively replaced him with Marc Cucurella, Chilwell’s high-impact cameo was nothing less than what he deserved after the difficult few months he has had to endure. It is also indicative of both his qualities as a player and, more importantly, his strength in character.
There are many that will be expecting Chilwell to hopefully kick-on now, and finally reestablish himself at the left side of CFC’s defence. What this means for new boy Cucurella, remains to be seen. What we know for certain is that this will be a fascinating tussle between two players of obvious quality throughout the season.