Frank Lampard’s high-flying Chelsea side dropped their first points after the resumption of the Premier League tonight after a gutting 3-2 defeat against London rivals West Ham United. The Hammers started the fixture with Michail Antonio operating as the lone striker and saying that he gave the Chelsea centre-halves a torrid time would only be an understatement.
The Blues took the lead through a Willian penalty in the first half but were pegged back by two quick West Ham goals either side of half-time. The Stamford Bridge outfit levelled things up through a sensational free-kick by Willian, but some poor defending in the final minutes meant that the Hammers were able to go out and grab all three points.
Here Are The Chelsea Player Ratings Vs West Ham United
Chelsea Player Ratings Vs West Ham United
Kepa Arrizabalaga – 5
The Spaniard looked extremely questionable every time the home side got a set-piece tonight. Made a complete mess of his positioning ahead of the first West Ham goal of the evening.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 5
Played a couple of decent crosses into the box in the second half, but didn’t have the greatest of outings defensively. Suspect for losing Tomas Soucek on multiple occasions down that side.
Andreas Christensen – 6
The big Dane often stepped forward from defence to look for a forward pass, but the lack of movement in front of him made things difficult. Made some good tackles but needs to be stronger in the box.
Antonio Rudiger – 4
The German had what was arguably his worst ever display in a Chelsea shirt tonight. Not only was he run ragged by Antonio, but he also allowed Yarmolenko to cut inside and score the winner.
Marcos Alonso – 5.5
Spent a majority of the fixture in the West Ham final third as the Blues kept pushing for a goal. Failed to track back in the latter stages of the game and it was down his end that the Hammers scored late on.
N’Golo Kante – 6
Positioned himself effectively in front of the Blues back-line and did his best trying to win possession back quickly. Made some good forward passes but didn’t have his usual impact in the middle.
Mateo Kovacic – 6.5
The Croatian was deft in possession and played a multitude of excellent passes all through the first half. Although he was the first player to be taken off, it wasn’t an indication of his performance tonight.
Ross Barkley – 6
The Englishman, like the rest of the Chelsea midfield, failed to have his usual impact in the core of the Blues side. Tried to pick up pockets of space in the final third but it just wouldn’t fall for him.
Willian – 8
The Brazilian veteran wasn’t allowed too much room to work his usual magic down the right flank. Put away the penalty with great aplomb before beating Fabianski with a quite sensational free-kick.
Tammy Abraham – 4.5
The Englishman was merely a spectator for most of the time that he was on the pitch. Didn’t have the strength to deal with the West Ham centre-halves and was rightly taken off by Lampard.
Christian Pulisic – 7
The American speedster looked like the player likeliest to produce something for Chelsea tonight, but he gradually fizzled out of the game. Missed a glorious chance to open the scoring in the first half.
Substitutes
Mason Mount – 6
The youngster often dropped deep to pick up the ball and try and make things happen, but the compact West Ham back-line blocked off any advances he made.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6
Composed on the ball and played some good passes out from the middle of the park. Didn’t have the desired impact in terms of the attacking perspective for Chelsea though.
Olivier Giroud – 6
The French international striker had a couple of decent opportunities to score in the late stages of the game, but the ball just wouldn’t stick for him in the West Ham United box.
