West Ham 1-0 Chelsea: Heroic Hammers Grind Out Derby Day Victory After Edging Banal Blues

West Ham United claimed a famous 1-0 Premier League victory over Chelsea, in a hotly contest London derby.

The hosts took an early lead, with Marko Arnautovi? firing home a low drive from 12 yards after weaving his way neatly into the Chelsea penalty area. Despite dominating much of the game, the visitors were unable to make any form of breakthrough, as the Hammers successfully managed to thwart their creative talents and hold out for the win.

Chelsea looked to dominate from the first whistle, knocking the ball around comfortably as the hosts struggled to string passes together. However, it was the Hammers who took the lead in the sixth minute, as Arnautovi? played a neat one-two with Manuel Lanzini, before bursting into the Chelsea box and slotting a deadly accurate shot past Thibaut Courtois.

Antonio Conte’s side looked rattled, but quickly regained their composure and took the games to the Hammers. Eden Hazard had Chelsea’s first shot on goal in the 19th minute, as the ball dropped to him on the angle from ten yards out. The Belgian international struck the ball sweetly, but saw it flying wide of Adrián’s far post.

N’Golo Kanté forced a save from Adrián in the 27th minute, as he received the ball on the edge of the area and bent a vicious right-footed shot at goal. Adrián tipped the ball wide of goal and made another smart save as Davide Zappacosta drilled in a low shot from 12 yards from the subsequent corner.

The Blues began to turn up the heat, as they launched wave upon wave of attack on the West Ham defence, with Cesc Fàbregas pulling the strings in midfield. Tiémoué Bakayoko saw a shot flying narrowly wide of goal in the 36th minute, as his drilled shot from the edge of the area was deflected just wide of the keeper’s far-post.

The Blues showed their intent to fight back by bringing on Pedro at half-time, who replaced the underwhelming Bakayoko. The hosts had the first chance of the second half in the 49th minute, as Gary Cahill lost possession to Michail Antonio – who burst forward and sent a through-ball to Arnautovi?, who would have been in on goal if it weren’t for the offside flag.

Zappacosta flashed a shot on goal in the 57th minute, as he cut inside Pablo Zabaleta and saw his arching effort bend agonisingly wide of Adrián’s far post. Conte’s side began to become frustrated, as West Ham’s well-drilled defence continued to hold strong against the barrage of attacking play.

Álvaro Morata spurned a glorious opportunity to equalise in the 82nd minute, as Fàbregas picked out N’Golo Kanté on the edge of the area – his pin-point pass to Morata seemed impossible to miss, but the Spanish international blazed the ball wide of goal from close-range despite having ample time to control his finish.

Moyes’ men held on to claim the precious three points, with their defensive resilience getting the better of Chelsea’s front-line. The Blues will be bitterly disappointed with the loss to their fierce London rivals, which could in effect extinguish any remaining hopes of hanging on to their Premier League title.

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