Chelsea 5 West Ham 0
Chelsea went into their second London derby in a week as they welcomed West Ham to Stamford Bridge. Despite both clubs having the chance of sneaking into the European places, things have gone a bit sour for The Hammers towards the end of the season.
Madueke won an early free kick out wide as he was upended by Paqueta. The ball was played into Jackson who looked to get a shot off from a narrow angle but Areola made a smart save at the near post to deny him. It was a statement of intent from the hosts.
Jackson turned provider moments later as he laid it off to Palmer in the box who side-footed his shot past the West Ham keeper to open the scoring. It looked as though Areola had got something to it but he could not prevent The Blues taking an early lead.
The visitors forced a corner which was met by the head of Bowen. His effort rattled the crossbar as it came back out. David Moyes’ side were so close to an immediate reply. Football is a game of fine margins and even at this stage The Hammers wondered if they would rue their misfortune.
Credit: @premierleague
Their worries were further compounded as West Ham failed to clear their lines and the ball dropped to Gallagher in the box. He drilled his shot into the bottom corner to double Chelsea’s lead. Stamford Bridge was bouncing at this stage.
In recent weeks, Madueke’s form has seen him make himself a first-team regular. As he picked up the ball outside the box, he cut onto his left foot and tried his luck from range. With Areola scrambling, his shot narrowly missed the far post, taking a deflection on the way through.
As the corner was whipped in, Silva headed back across goal and Madueke was unmarked and headed into the back of the net. West Ham’s defending in West London had been woeful and you could not see a way back into this game for them.
Things almost got worse as Gallagher beat Areola to the ball on the edge of the six yard box. Fortunately for Moyes’ side, his effort came crashing back off the crossbar as the Chelsea midfielder had just got too much height to his shot.
Moments later, West Ham had a rare foray forward. As the cross came in from Coufal, Petrovic got a weak punch to it and Bowen volleyed it goalwards, only to see it hit the frame of the goal once again. By this stage The Hammers’ playmaker must have thought this was not going to be his day.
Just after the interval, Pochettino’s side opened up the visitors once again. Madueke ran through on goal and as Areola closed him down, he unselfishly squared it to Jackson to knock the ball into an empty net. The Blues’ fans were loving what they were seeing.
Credit: @premierleague
With half an hour of the game remaining, the away end had almost completely emptied out. Chelsea continued applying the pressure and Mudryk had a shot at goal from a tight angle but the West Ham keeper saved well with his feet.
The Hammers continued to try and get a goal and as Bowen managed to make some space for himself in the box to get a shot away, he looked in disbelief as his effort came back off the crossbar once again. You could not replicate his bad luck at Stamford Bridge.
To rub salt in the wound, Jackson ran through onto a ball threaded in behind the West Ham defence and slotted it past Areola to make it five-nil. It was immediately ruled out for offside but a VAR review overturned the decision and awarded the goal.
It was all smiles for Pochettino and his players at the final whistle, while West Ham cannot wait for the end of the season. After the game, The Hammers announced that David Moyes will be leaving the club at the end of the season when his contract expires.
Did you enjoy this article? Please share to your social media. With one click you can help spread the word and make Solid at the Back the one-stop shop for all Premier League fans.