Chelsea extended their lead to ten points at the top of the table following a 2-1 win against West Ham United in the Premier League on Monday night.
The game got off to a nervy start with a tight midfield battle being ensued as neither side allowed each other much time on the ball.
The Hammers looked more likely to score in the opening exchanges with Andy Carrol coming close to breaking the deadlock in the 5th minute, but Victor Moses did well to block his header. The home side posed a threat to the Blues defence with their long-ball tactic as they utilised Carrol as a target-man.
The visitors took the lead much against the run of play in the 25th minute, when a swift counter-attacking move resulted in Eden Hazard rounding the goalkeeper after a great interception by N’Golo Kante and an even better return pass from Pedro.
The goal seemed to take the sting out of the West Ham attack as they began to defend deeper in their own half.
Manuel Lanzini had a great opportunity to level the scores in the 40th minute when he was played through on goal by Mark Noble but e blasted his shot over the bar.
Darren Randolph did brilliantly to stop efforts from Victor Moses and Pedro in quick succession a minute later.
Antonio Conte’s side doubled their advantage five minutes after the half-time break when Diego Costa profited from a set-piece after some ball-watching by the West Ham defence.
Chelsea showed no signs of stopping their dominance as Marcos Alonso almost added a third in spectacular fashion but saw his attempted chip went inches wide of the target after perplexing two defenders with a nice piece of skill.
Moses cleared a shot off the line as the visitors came out unscathed from a rare West Ham attacking surge, before Randolph made a superb save in the 66th minute from Costa after a great turn by the Spaniard.
Cesc Fabregas could’ve added his name onto the score sheet in the 81st minute when a well-worked resulted in him getting the ball on the edge of the area, but the midfielder blasted his effort over the bar.
West Ham managed to find a late consolation goal through Lanzini as Chelsea cruised to victory in the London Derby. – Africa Sports24.
