A fabulous Chelsea display saw Frank Lampard earning Man of the match after scoring twice against his former club.
Despite West Ham’s lively start Chelsea were eager to make amends after their last two league results. The blues looked promising, pressing the ball high up the field.
West Hame came agonizingly close to taking the lead. The Hammers captain Kevin Nolan saw his shot blocked by Cesar Azpilicueta, the ball then dropped to Joe Cole the former Chelsea man slipped at the vital moment.
Two minutes later Chelsea were ahead. A dreadful mistake by Demel let Oscar in behind the defence who then was bundled over by jussi jaaskelainen. Frank Lampard the former West ham player fiercely struck the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 Chelsea.
Just after the half an hour mark the blues doubled their advantage. After maintaining possession for a while Lampard provided Hazard with a perfectly weighted pass. With the Belgian’s back to goal he cleverly flicked the ball to Oscar who clinically finished the move from 20 yards. 2-0 Chelsea
It was almost three. Azpilicueta and Hazard cleverly combined on the left, Hazard intelligently fed Eto’o who was in a perfect position to curl the ball in the top left corner. The Cameroon International almost accomplished his goal with a world class save from jussi jaaskelainen denying Chelsea. 2-0 HT
Chelsea started the second half in the same fashion as the first, oozing quality. Jose Mourinho’s men were very much in a control dominating almost 75% of the possession in the opening 10 minutes.
Chances came in quick succession for the blues. Firstly Hazard whipped a corner into the box which was met by the head of Cahill, who’s bullet header was cleared of the line. It was nearly all over.
Only three minutes later Chelsea had an other opportunity. A lovely free-flowing counter attack saw Azpilicueta combine with Eto’o. The Spaniard then received the ball an attempted to chip the ball torwards Oscar who could only poke his volley wide.
Moments after the clock hit the hour mark football fans all across the globe nearly witnessed a stunning effort. Eto’o received the ball about 25 yards away from goal then attempted to spectacularly curl the ball into the goal. The ball sailed inches over the bar.
A minute later West Ham almost scored, Demel who’s howler led to Chelsea’s first goal was at his skilful best. The defender beat one then two and three before lipping the ball into the box, Maiga wasn’t able to divert the ball into the goal.
The hammers continued to attack, however Chelsea were able to yield their efforts. Demba Ba was introduced to the game replacing Samuel Eto’o who played very well and deserved a goal for his efforts.
Chelsea were home and dry when Super Frankie Lampard doubled his match total. Ivanovic drove forward and played an acute cross into the path of Hazard his blocked effort fell to Lampard who fired home. 3-0
Michael Essien surprisingly featured for the closing stages of the game replacing Eden Hazard. Playing in his first league game in 18 months he won the ball in the middle of the park and ignited a Chelsea counter-attack!
There was no way back for West Ham and you could sense that Mourinho’s sides wanted to add to the score line. In the last minute of injury time Demba Ba had a goal disallowed. The Senegal international slotted the ball home after a beautiful through ball by Essien, however he was fractionally offside.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. KTBFFH
@carbislli @chelsea_fanzine
