Chelsea were held to a draw at West Ham United 0-0 at the London Olympic Stadium in the match in the English Premier League on Sunday (9/23). Chelsea came back with the best strength in the Premier League after dropping a slightly different squad in the Europa League against PAOK.
The composition made the Blues free to attack from the very beginning, including the opportunities that Eden Hazard and Olivier Giroud got.
It’s just that, Giroud’s effort in the ninth minute to make the visitors excel quickly has not produced results. Defender Antonio Ruediger did not want to miss in helping his team score. Again the efforts of Maurizio Sarri’s team were unsuccessful.
Midway through the first half the Chelsea striker, Willian, tried to open a shot against West Ham, but was not on target. West Ham striker Michail Antonio responded to Chelsea’s attack with a shot which was wide of Kepa Arrizabalaga’s goal in the 29th minute. Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante also took turns pressing the Hammers with a number of goals. But the first half position did not change and remained 0-0.
In the second half West Ham immediately threatened Chelsea through Andriy Yarmolenko. But Yarmolenko’s shot in the 51st minute was far from the target. The counter-attack was carried out by David Luiz in the 55th minute. But the former Paris Saint-Germain player’s header also did not provide a significant danger to the hosts.
Continuous goalscoring efforts by Chelsea also maintain a position not far from Liverpool who currently top the standings. However, Willian’s shot in the 60th minute did not give the Blues an edge.
Player changes and tactics were carried out by both teams midway through the second half. West Ham pulled out Antonio and Anderson by including Lucas Perez and Robert Snodgrass. Chelsea also played Alvaro Morata, Gary Cahill to Ross Barkley. Chelsea star Eden Hazard had a golden opportunity in the 90th minute. But the Belgian’s kick could be countered by goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
This additional one point makes Chelsea fail to take over the top of the standings which now belongs to Liverpool. Currently the Blues are ranked third with 16 points equal to Manchester City and two points behind the Reds.
Player composition
West Ham: Lukasz Fabianski; Paolo Zabaleta, Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena, Arthur Mausaku Andriy Yarmolenko, Pedro Obiang, Declan Rice, Mark Noble, Felipe Anderson; Michail Antonio.
Chelsea: To Arrizabalaga; Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Ruediger, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso; N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic; Willian, Olivier Giroud, Eden Hazard.
