Christian Pulisic came off the bench to give Chelsea a dramatic 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday, minutes after Jorginho had a woeful penalty saved.
The home side dominated the opening 45 minutes, but neither side were able to register a shot on target as both teams lacked quality in the final third.
With much of the same in the opening five minutes of the second half, Chelsea finally woke up and started to threaten the West ham goal.
Timo Werner had a shot blocked from close-range in the first of a string of important Craig Dawson blocks, before Lukasz Fabianski reacted well to deny a deflected N’Golo Kante effort.
Werner was the recipient of possibly the best chance of the game. A loose ball dropped to the strikers feet, and from close-range tried to stab it towards goal but couldn’t get any force behind it as Fabianski made the all-important stop.
Chesea were awarded a penalty with five minutes remaining after Dawson was sent off for denying Romelu Lukaku a goal-scoring opportunity, but Jorginho’s spot-kick was a terrible one which Fabianski saved with ease.
Chelsea continued to push for an opener, and finally broke the deadlock through Pulisic in the final minute of normal time. Alonso pulled a cross back towards Pulisic on the penalty spot, who converted excellently to give Chelsea the lead.
The Blues managed to see out the game and pick up a vital three points to strengthen their top four status.
KEY TALKING POINT – CHELSEA LEAVE IT LATE BUT TIGHTEN THEIR GRIP ON THIRD
It looked as though Chelsea were heading for a fourth winless home game in a row after another lacklustre performance at the Bridge. Romelu Lukaku and Cristian Pulisic both made impacts off the bench, firstly Lukaku winning a penalty that was missed by Jorginho, before Pulisic fired the Blues to the win. That late, late goal gives Chelsea some breathing space in third place, which means they’re now seven points clear of the Europa League places, with a game in hand. They’ve got some tricky fixtures coming up, but surely the reigning European Champions have now done enough to qualify for Champions League football next season.
MAN OF THE MATCH – MARCOS ALONSO (CHELSEA)
Up until the 85th minute, Craig Dawson had been the best player on the pitch, but he threw that away when he brought Lukaku down in the box to get himself sent off and gift Chelsea the chance to win the game. Alonso however, was Chelsea’s best player and was one of the only players that caused a threat during the game.
It was one of his resilient runs down the wing that made the difference in the end, before putting the ball on a plate for Pulisic to score the winner.
MATCH RATINGS
CHELSEA: Mendy 7, Azpilicueta 5, Silva 6, Chalobah 6, Loftus-Cheek 5, Kante 6, Jorginho 5, Alonso 8, Mount 7, Werner 6, Havertz 5
Subs: Pulisic 8, Lukaku 7, Ziyech 6
WEST HAM: Fabianski 7, Coufal 7, Dawson 6, Cresswell 7, Johnson 7, Soucek 6, Noble 6, Masuaku 6, Fornals 6, Benrahma 5, Yarmolenko 6
Subs: Rice 6, Lanzini 6, Bowen 6
KEY MOMENTS
51’ – GREAT DEFENDING DAWSON! The ball drops to Werner who strikes it first time from inside the penalty box but Dawson makes a brilliant block to deny him. Chelsea finally waking up!
58’ – CHELSEA COME CLOSE! Kante strikes on the edge of the box and it deflects off of Johnson, which almost catches Fabianki out, but the goalkeeper is able to react quick enough to catch the ball.
73’ – HUGE WERNER CHANCE! He couldn’t get any force behind it! The ball drops to the striker and from close range stabs it towards goal, but Fabianski denies him!
85’ – CHELSEA PENALTY! Dawson, who has been so good today, pulls Lukaku back and Chelsea are awarded a penalty.
87’ – DAWSON SEES RED. What a shame. Dawson has been sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
88’ – SAVED! Jorginho with a truly terrible penalty! He just passes it to Fabianski!
90’ – GOAL! CHELSEA 1-0 WEST HAM (PULISIC): The deadlock is finally broken, and what a huge goal that could turn out to be for Chelsea! Alonso pulls a cross back towards Pulisic on the penalty spot, who converts excellently to give Chelsea the lead.
