toptop
A
Thiago Silva header and late double from Tammy Abraham earned lacklusture
Chelsea a 3-0 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
Frank Lampard's side, who had lost their last two in the Premier League, needed
to get back on track against their London rivals and Silva's powerful header on
10 minutes was the ideal start, after Declan Rice had a goal ruled out for
offside.
The game descended into an attritional affair short on quality after that
dramatic opening, but two sharp finishes from Abraham (78, 80) in two minutes
sealed the three points which lift Chelsea above Tottenham, into fifth, while
West Ham will spend Christmas in 10th spot.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Mendy (6), Azpilicueta (7), Zouma (7), Silva (8),
Chilwell (n/a), Kante (6), Jorginho (6), Werner (5), Mount (7), Pulisic (6),
Abraham (7).
Subs: Emerson (6), Kovacic (6), Havertz (n/a)
West Ham: Fabianski (6), Coufal (6), Balbuena (6), Ogbonna (6),
Cresswell (7), Noble (6), Rice (7), Soucek (7), Fornals (6), Haller (5), Bowen
(7).
Subs: Benrahma (5), Fredericks (n/a)
Man of the Match: Thiago Silva (Chelsea)
How Chelsea beat their London rivals...
West Ham did the double over Chelsea last season and thought they had got off to
a flyer when Rice raced onto a quick free-kick from Aaron Cresswell and
converted brilliantly from a tight angle on seven minutes - but an offside flag
confirmed the midfielder had gone just too soon.
Birthday boy Ben Chilwell had turned his ankle moments earlier and was forced
off on nine minutes - but despite that setback Chelsea hit the front seconds
later, when Silva found some pace to head Mason Mount's corner home.
It was the first set-piece goal West Ham had conceded all season but Mount
thought he should have had another assist with a cross soon after, when he
berated Abraham and Timo Werner for not latching onto his pass through the
six-yard box
Abraham did have the ball in the net on 15 minutes, although the ball had
clearly gone out of play when Cesar Azpilicueta crossed. There was more debate
when Jarrod Bowen hit the net after the whistle had blown at the other end on
the half hour, with Silva going down easily as he battled for Tomas Soucek's
flick-on.
Werner should have scored legitimately just before half-time when Christian
Pulisic teed him up in the box after a driving run but the Germany forward - who
has now gone 10 games without a goal for club and country - shot tamely at
Lukasz Fabianski.
Chelsea dominated the early possession in the game but lacked a spark, going 30
minutes without a shot after Silva's opener in the first half, and Lampard's
team were short on verve after the break, too.
Werner almost met Abraham's fizzed cross at the start of the second period but
with the hosts below par, West Ham took the upper hand and a block from
Azpilicueta was crucial to keep out Pablo Fornals just after the hour.
The visitors were no more efficient at carving out clear chances, though - they
failed to register a single shot on target - and two clinical finishes from
Abraham in the final stages took the contest away from them.
The England striker first flicked in Werner's scuffed shot, before firing home a
rebound after Fabianski had blocked Pulisic's header to secure the win. There
could have been more gloss added in the 89th minute but Werner's close-range
shot crashed against the bar, rather summing up his luck in front of goal right
now.
Opta stats
West ham failed to score for the first time in their last 10 away Premier League
games, losing for just the third time on the road in that period (W4 D3).
Chelsea have scored more goals from corners than any other team in the Premier
League this season (8), with three of these goals being headers from Mason Mount
assists. AT 3-0
David Moyes is without a win in any of his 16 Premier League visits to Stamford
Bridge (D7 L9), the joint-highest tally of any manager never to win at a stadium
in the competition, equalling his own record (16 games at Anfield).
Mason Mount made his 50th Premier League appearance for Chelsea tonight,
becoming the youngest English player (21y 346d) to reach this milestone for the
club since John Terry in January 2002 (21y 36d).
Tammy Abraham has scored his first brace for Chelsea across all competitions
since September 2019 (hat-trick v Wolves), with just 101 seconds separating
Abraham's two finishes.
Timo Werner has failed to score in each of his last seven starts for Chelsea in
all competitions, his longest run of starts without a goal in club competition
since September 2016, between spells at Stuttgart and RB Leipzig (9).
What's next?
Chelsea are at Arsenal on Boxing Day, live on Sky Sports Premier League from
5pm; kick-off 5.30pm. West Ham host Brighton on December 27, live on Sky Sports
Premier League, from 2pm; kick-off 2.15pm.
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea Mendy, Azpilicueta (c), Zouma, Silva, Chilwell (Emerson
10), Kante, Jorginho (Kovacic 66), Werner, Mount, Pulisic (Havertz 84), Abraham
Subs Not Used Kepa, Rudiger, Christensen, Gilmour, Hudson-Odoi,
Giroud
Booked
Goals Silva 10, Abraham 78, 80
West Ham United Fabianski, Coufal, Balbuena, Ogbonna,
Cresswell, Rice, Noble (c), Bowen (Fredericks 90), Soucek, Fornals (Benrahma
67), Haller
Subs Not Used Martin, Randolph, Dawson, Diop, Johnson,
Snodgrass, Yarmolenko
Booked
Goals
Attendance 0
Referee Chris Kavanagh
VAR David Coote