Chelsea’s
100 per cent record in the Premier League was ended by West Ham United in a
0-0 draw on Super Sunday.
After winning their first five games under Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea's quality
in the final third was severely lacking as Eden Hazard was suffocated by the
Hammers' midfield.
West Ham created clear chances but missed the ruthlessness of Marko
Arnautovic, who was absent with a knee injury.
The standout chance fell to Andriy Yarmolenko late on but he headed wide
from six yards out.
Questions were being asked about West Ham under Manuel Pellegrini after four
straight defeats but four points in the last week and a first clean sheet
has them moving in the right direction.
Player Ratings
West Ham: Fabianski (7), Balbuena (7), Zabaleta (7), Diop
(6), Masuaku (7), Rice (7), Obiang (6), Noble (7), Yarmolenko (6), Anderson
(7), Antonio (5).
Subs: Snodgrass (7), Sanchez (6),
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga (7), Rudiger (6), Alonso (6), Luiz
(6), Azpilicueta (6), Jorginho (6), Kante (5), Kovacic (5), Willian (6),
Hazard (5), Giroud (5).
Subs: Morata (5), Barkley (6)
Man of the match: Pablo Zabaleta
Despite bossing the ball in the early stages, Chelsea created little as West
Ham carried the bigger threat on the counter attack.
Arnautovic's replacement Michail Antonio squandered two chances in quick
succession, blazing over from a tight angle on 31 minutes before firing
straight at Kepa Arrizabalaga two minutes later.
Team news
Marko Arnautovic failed a fitness test for West Ham, therefore Michail
Antonio started up front on his own. Meanwhile, Olivier Giroud was preferred
to Alvaro Morata while Willian replaced the injured Pedro.
David Luiz headed a great opportunity over the bar just after the break as
Chelsea continued to look pretty with the ball but lacked ideas in the final
third, with the axis of Hazard, Olivier Giroud and Willian struggling to
find much rhythm.
Alvaro Morata replaced Giroud on 64 minutes and should have scored within
two minutes of coming on. Luiz took advantage of some sloppy defending from
Yarmolenko at the back post but Morata's close range finish smacked Lukasz
Fabianski's face and flew to safety.
Hazard should have been greedier when bursting into the box with 15 minutes
left, deciding to look for Morata rather than shoot before Yarmolenko wasted
a glorious opening. Robert Snodgrass curled over a wonderful cross that put
the chance on a plate for the Ukrainian, but he somehow headed wide from six
yards out.
Ross Barkley tested Fabianski from range in stoppage time and Willian fired
wide from a tight angle but a Chelsea winner never really looked likely as
they failed to score in the Premier League for the first time under Sarri.
Opta stats
West Ham have avoided defeat in three consecutive Premier League games
against Chelsea (W1 D2) for the first time since a run of five between March
1998 and March 2000.
Chelsea failed to score in the Premier League for the first time under
Maurizio Sarri and for just the second time in their last 15 league games
(also a 3-0 defeat at Newcastle in May).
This was only Chelsea's second goalless draw in their last 48 away Premier
League games (also 0-0 against Everton in December 2017).
Chelsea midfielder Jorginho attempted 180 passes in this match - since
2003/04, this is the most by a player in a single Premier League match.
Jorginho has completed 628 passes in total for Chelsea in the Premier League
this season, more than any other player.
This was Chelsea's 600th top-flight London derby, becoming the third London
side to reach this number after Arsenal (674) and Spurs (609).
Man of the match: Pablo Zabaleta
Any one of the West Ham defensive unit would have been good value for the
award but Zabaleta edges it courtesy of some important last-ditch tackles in
the box. The former Manchester City man may be lacking pace but his
positional play is still of high standard, with Hazard getting no joy from
Zabaleta when moving out to the left flank.
What's next?
Chelsea travel to Anfield on Wednesday to play Liverpool in the Carabao Cup
third round - live on Sky Sports - before welcoming Jurgen Klopp's side to
Stamford Bridge next Saturday. Meanwhile, West Ham play Macclesfield on
Wednesday in the cup ahead of travelling to take on Manchester United, live
on Sky Sports next Saturday lunchtime.
Teams
West Ham United Fabianski, Zabaleta, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku,
Rice, Yarmolenko, Noble (c) (Sanchez 85), Obiang, Anderson (Snodgrass 74),
Antonio (Perez 65)
Subs Not Used Adrian, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Fredericks
Booked Anderson, Snodgrass
Goals
Chelsea Kepa, Azpilicueta (c), Luiz, Rudiger (Cahill 69),
Alonso, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic (Barkley 79), Willian, Giroud (Morata 65),
Hazard
Subs Not Used Caballero, Zappacosta, Fabregas, Moses
Booked Kante
Goals
Attendance 56,875
Referee Mike Dean
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