West Ham United hosted Chelsea at the London stadium where they held them to a 0-0 draw. The Hammers were coming on the back of a confidence-boosting win against Everton away from home whereas the Blues had won all their games under Maurizio Sarri so far. However, Pellegrini and his men were defiant as they were able to stop Chelsea’s juggernaut and the Blues dropped their first points of the season which made Liverpool the table-toppers after the sixth game week.
Chelsea had the lion’s share of possession, but they weren’t too useful with it. The Hammers had some decent chances themselves especially Andriy Yarmolenko, who should have scored a free header from a close range.
Here is how the Hammers fared against their London rivals:
Lukasz Fabianski 7
Made some routine saves throughout the game and his ball handling was good. The standout save was the one where he stopped Morata scoring from close range by closing him down quickly.
Pablo Zabaleta 7
Was his usual dogged and determined self. Made some good overlapping runs down the right.
Fabian Balbuena 7
The Paraguayan had a decent afternoon as he thwarted away waves of Chelsea attack.
Issa Diop 6.5
The young Frenchman was caught out of position on few occasions but overall a steady performance, and it seems like Pellegrini has finally identified his two best centre back pairings.
Arthur Masuaku 6
Didn’t get much of a chance to go forward and affect the game. Defensively he was decent and stayed solid throughout the match.
Declan Rice 7.5
One of the best performers for the Hammers as he read the situation well and broke up play on numerous situations. His decision making with the ball also improved as the match went on.
Mark Noble 6
Defensively he was found wanting as he failed to close down Chelsea attackers on quite a few occasions. His best work came when United had the possession as he made some excellent runs in dangerous areas and distributed the ball well.
Pedro Obiang 6
Had a fine afternoon in midfield. Pellegrini though would want him to get involved a bit more while going forward.
Andriy Yarmolenko 5
Worked hard defensively but was guilty of giving away a golden chance to Alvaro Morata. While going forward, he took some wayward shots and often failed to provide crosses as he always tried to cut inside. Didn’t correctly use Zabaleta when the Argentine made some smart overlapping runs.
Felipe Anderson 7
Held the ball well and did provide an escape route when Chelsea were dominating the possession. Used his pace well to start some good counter attacks.
Michail Antonio 6.5
Can’t fault him for the shift he put in playing in an unfamiliar position. Was isolated for the most parts but should have scored from close range when the Hammers hit the Blues on the counter.
Substitutes
Robert Snodgrass 7
Provided the pass of the game to setup Yarmolenko with a free header. Sadly the Ukranian didn’t capitalise. Worked hard and maybe showed Pellegrini that he deserves to start.
Carlos Sanchez N/A
Didn’t play enough to warrant a rating
Lucas Perez N/A
Didn’t affect the game much.
