Match ends, Chelsea 1, West Ham United 0.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said the late Premier League win over West Ham was "needed to release the pressure and tension" caused by his side's recent poor home form.
The Blues had lost their previous three games at Stamford Bridge, conceding 11 goals in the process, and were indebted to Christian Pulisic's 90th-minute winner three minutes after Jorginho's woeful penalty was saved.
David Moyes rested six players before West Ham's Europa League semi-final tie against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday and it looked like they might hold on for a precious point when Jorginho's tame effort was saved by Lukasz Fabianski after 87 minutes.
But after Craig Dawson was sent off following a video assistant review (VAR) for fouling Romelu Lukaku in the build-up to the spot-kick, Pulisic became the saviour as he tucked in Marcos Alonso's low cross.
After a lacklustre performance, the goal sparked relief for Tuchel and the home fans as they recovered from their midweek 4-2 defeat by Arsenal to move five points clear of the fourth-placed Gunners.
"It is a deserved clean sheet and disciplined performance," Tuchel said. "We needed a clean sheet and home win to release the pressure and tension. The atmosphere is now good. This is good for confidence."
West Ham will be distraught they did not get anything from the game after a sterling display, with Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio all starting on the bench.
Dawson, who was otherwise excellent with a number of blocks, will also feel aggrieved as West Ham remain seventh, eight points behind Arsenal.
Stuttering Chelsea saved by Pulisic
Chelsea's recent woes on the pitch have mirrored their uncertainty off it as the club waits for new owners to take charge and give it new direction.
Recent defensive problems have not been helped by news that Antonio Rudiger is set to leave at the end of the season after failing to agree a new deal despite being offered a contract of more than £200,000 a week.
But this late victory gave Stamford Bridge a huge lift even if it looked as if Jorginho had thrown away Chelsea's best chance when his under-hit penalty was easily gathered by the West Ham goalkeeper.
A clean sheet for the hosts was also welcome, particularly as they were without the injured Rudiger and Reece James, and forced into a late reshuffle when Andreas Christensen was replaced by Trevoh Chalobah, despite the Dane initially being named in the starting line-up.
James was missed in a lacklustre first half. Ruben Loftus-Cheek filled in at right wing-back but Chelsea could not penetrate West Ham's defensive wall under the expert marshalling of the evergreen Mark Noble.
In front of another restricted crowd of 32,231 because of sanctions against owner Roman Abramovich, and with striker Lukaku starting the game back on the bench, there was little to rouse the crowd before the break with only an off-target effort by N'golo Kante coming anywhere close.
West Ham were happy to soak up the pressure and went closer to scoring through Andriy Yarmolenko and Said Benrahma, although the latter's saved effort was deemed offside.
The first shot on target did not come until close to the hour mark, when the home fans finally got off their seats. Dawson brilliantly blocked Timo Werner's effort before Kante and Chalobah had shots saved by Fabianski.
Tuchel also woke from a slumber to berate the officials after Rice was deemed to have been fouled shortly after coming on to replace Noble.
After Werner went close twice more, Tuchel made a triple substitution with Lukaku, Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech all coming on.
And it was not long before it made an impact. Lukaku was slipped through and pulled back by Dawson. Referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty and a yellow card, but after a VAR review upgraded it to a red.
That looked like it would lead to a home win when Jorginho, who had converted his last 13 spot-kicks, stepped up.
But his embarrassment was spared by Pulisic, who scored his seventh goal of the season from Alonso's cut-back, leading to Tuchel and the fans punching the air in delight.
Player of the match
PulisicChristian Pulisic
Chelsea
Avg
- Squad number10Player namePulisicAverage rating
6.91
- Squad number19Player nameMountAverage rating
6.50
- Squad number7Player nameKantéAverage rating
6.45
- Squad number6Player nameThiago SilvaAverage rating
6.31
- Squad number11Player nameWernerAverage rating
6.21
- Squad number3Player nameAlonsoAverage rating
5.98
- Squad number16Player nameMendyAverage rating
5.97
- Squad number29Player nameHavertzAverage rating
5.93
- Squad number22Player nameZiyechAverage rating
5.92
- Squad number12Player nameLoftus-CheekAverage rating
5.86
- Squad number14Player nameChalobahAverage rating
5.81
- Squad number28Player nameAzpilicuetaAverage rating
5.70
- Squad number9Player nameLukakuAverage rating
5.54
- Squad number5Player nameJorginhoAverage rating
4.95
West Ham United
Avg
- Squad number1Player nameFabianskiAverage rating
6.43
- Squad number41Player nameRiceAverage rating
6.34
- Squad number3Player nameCresswellAverage rating
6.32
- Squad number15Player nameDawsonAverage rating
6.30
- Squad number16Player nameNobleAverage rating
6.25
- Squad number31Player nameJohnsonAverage rating
6.22
- Squad number7Player nameYarmolenkoAverage rating
6.21
- Squad number20Player nameBowenAverage rating
6.21
- Squad number28Player nameSoucekAverage rating
6.17
- Squad number5Player nameCoufalAverage rating
6.13
- Squad number8Player nameFornalsAverage rating
6.12
- Squad number22Player nameBenrahmaAverage rating
6.07
- Squad number26Player nameMasuakuAverage rating
5.88
- Squad number10Player nameLanziniAverage rating
5.68
Line-ups
Chelsea
Formation 3-4-1-2
- 16Mendy
- 14Chalobah
- 6Thiago Silva
- 28Azpilicueta
- 12Loftus-CheekSubstituted forZiyechat 76'minutes
- 7Kanté
- 5Jorginho
- 3AlonsoBooked at 82mins
- 19Mount
- 29HavertzSubstituted forLukakuat 76'minutes
- 11WernerSubstituted forPulisicat 76'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 9Lukaku
- 10Pulisic
- 17Saúl
- 18Barkley
- 22Ziyech
- 23Kenedy
- 31Sarr
West Ham
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 1Fabianski
- 31Johnson
- 15DawsonBooked at 86mins
- 3Cresswell
- 5Coufal
- 28Soucek
- 16NobleSubstituted forRiceat 62'minutes
- 26Masuaku
- 7YarmolenkoSubstituted forBowenat 73'minutes
- 8Fornals
- 22BenrahmaSubstituted forLanziniat 78'minutes
Substitutes
- 9Antonio
- 10Lanzini
- 11Vlasic
- 13Areola
- 20Bowen
- 24Fredericks
- 33Král
- 41Rice
- 42Alese
- Referee:
- Michael Oliver
- Attendance:
- 32,231
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home67%
- Away33%
- Shots
- Home26
- Away6
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away2
- Corners
- Home3
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home11
- Away9
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Chelsea 1, West Ham United 0.
Post update
Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Vladimir Coufal (West Ham United).
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Attempt missed. Mason Mount (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Romelu Lukaku.
Goal!
Goal! Chelsea 1, West Ham United 0. Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Marcos Alonso with a cross.
Post update
Attempt missed. Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Christian Pulisic.
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Penalty saved! Jorginho (Chelsea) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom left corner.
Dismissal
Craig Dawson (West Ham United) is shown the red card.
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VAR Decision: Card upgraded Craig Dawson (West Ham United).
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Penalty Chelsea. Romelu Lukaku draws a foul in the penalty area.
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Penalty conceded by Craig Dawson (West Ham United) after a foul in the penalty area.
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Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Craig Dawson.
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Attempt blocked. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by César Azpilicueta with a cross.
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Mason Mount (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Craig Dawson (West Ham United).
Booking
Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Marcos Alonso (Chelsea).
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Tomas Soucek (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution
Substitution, West Ham United. Manuel Lanzini replaces Saïd Benrahma.
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Comments
Join the conversation
Good luck to Hammers on Thursday and the rest of the season
Adjective
Derived from the smallest club in London. Refers to an attraction to failure even when odds are in ones favour.
Example - 'How Spursy, finishing 3rd in a 2 horse race'
Good luck on Thursday
KTBFFH
That Chelsea struggled against an understrength team due to injuries and rightly European competition resting does sum up their season, somewhat.
Best of luck to West Ham this coming week.