Chelsea grabbed a vital late goal to further solidify their place in the top four. Christian Pulisic’s late winner from a fantastic Marcos Alonso cross, saved face for Jorginho, who moments earlier looked to have cost Chelsea the three points with a shocking penalty effort that looked more like a pass.
Player Ratings:
Edouard Mendy – 6/10
A quiet game for Chelsea’s goalkeeper. He was not tested very much at all throughout the match. His highlight was a fine double save against West Ham’s Yarmolenko, which was later called offside.
César Azpilicueta – 5/10
Chelsea’s longest serving player is beginning to look a bit out of his depth every week. A legend for the Blues, without doubt, but he seems to be off the pace both offensively and defensively. Some shocking passes in the game- straight to the opposition, could’ve cost his side.
Thiago Silva – 7/10
The most solid of the back three by far. Looking calm and composed on the ball, Silva made 111 passes, the most of any player on the pitch, with an accuracy of 91%. He also made a few driving runs, with one resulting in a shot that was unfortunately blocked by teammate Werner.
Trevoh Chalobah – 6/10
A late introduction to the side, after Andreas Christensen dropped out of the team during the warmup due to ‘stomach cramps’. Chalobah would’ve hoped to impress Tuchel, after being out of the side for so long. An early mistake on the ball showed his nerves, but he looked more in control as the game went on, a powerful longshot that forced Fabianski into a good save showed his growing confidence.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6/10
Loftus-Cheek’s run in the side continues, playing in consecutive London derbies. Pushed out to right wing-back, Ruben often made the driving runs he can do so well. His game falls off, however, when it comes to the final product- often putting balls into the box that met a West Ham defender’s head.
Marcos Alonso – 8/10
Alonso spent large parts of the game running up and down the left wing, struggling to get involved in attack. He was key to the late winner, however, putting in a perfect low cross through West Ham’s defence that found Pulisic perfectly.
Jorginho – 5/10
Jorginho’s rating is heavily brought down by his penalty which he would not want to see again, practically passing it to Fabianski. The rest of his game, however, was solid. Chelsea’s whole team struggled in the first 45, but as they grew into the game in the second half Jorginho increased the tempo of the Blues attack, picking out some key passes.
N’Golo Kante – 6/10
The Frenchman still looks slightly off the pace going forward, but his defensive game today was reminiscent of the Kante of old. Some fantastic attack stopping tackles and interceptions, meant Chelsea’s defence was rarely troubled.
Mason Mount – 7/10
Chelsea’s top scorer this season looked keen to add to his tally today. He took several long-shots, most of which were not as accurate as he would’ve liked. A late shot after Chelsea had taken the lead, went agonisingly close, skimming the roof of the net.
Kai Havertz – 5/10
The German, who in the month of March was scoring for fun, struggled once again today. Hardly involved in the game, making a few runs but never finding the final pass.
Timo Werner – 6/10
Chelsea’s most dangerous attacker for the first 75 minutes. Looked like the only player in blue who could pose a potential threat in the first half, and as Chelsea ramped things up in the second 45 he had multiple chances. He’ll be disappointed not to have had a couple of goals given his recent form.
SUBS
Hakim Ziyech – 6/10
Ziyech came on late in the game, making a few good passes, and sending in some dangerous crosses. He didn’t have long to make an impact, and his best moment came with a long range strike that flew wide of the post.
Romelu Lukaku – 7/10
The Belgian looked like he had something to prove to Tuchel and the Chelsea fans today. He was constantly looking for runs in behind, and did brilliantly well to beat Craig Dawson and win a penalty, as well as getting the defender sent off. His drive to win that penalty should’ve won Chelsea the game before Jorginho’s miss.
Pulisic – 8/10
Just what Tuchel would’ve wanted when he sent the American on with ten minutes to go. Pulisic has been out of the side recently, but his attacking instincts shone through, doing fantastically to get into the box, and expertly turn in Alonso’s cross first-time into the bottom corner.
Thomas Tuchel – 7/10
Tuchel will know that the first half, against a severely weakened West Ham side, was simply not good enough. Chelsea looked flat and lethargic going forward. Credit goes to him though, for his subs. Lukaku and Pulisic came on and turned the game in the Blues favour, winning a crucial three points late on.
