Chelsea 1-0 West Ham: Christian Pulisic's last-minute goal seals a dramatic victory over the Hammers
West Ham started the game with one center-half and finished with none, which proved decisive in the end.
Craig Dawson repelled nearly everything Chelsea could throw at goal for 86 minutes.
In truth, this didn't amount to much in the first half, but the home side gained momentum and created more after the break, only to be frustrated time and again by Dawson, who made blocks and courageous tackles, won headers, and organized those around him like a last-action hero.
Christian Pulisic came off the bench to score the game-winning goal in the 90th minute against West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
The American forward dashed over to the
stands to celebrate his last-gasp winner with the Blues fans
Pulisic was also seen celebrating with his Chelsea teammates, Romelu Lukaku (middle) and Jorginho (right) (right)
Until he had a momentary lapse in concentration as he grew tired. As they contested a ball headed forward by Thiago Silva, Romelu Lukaku, a late substitute, rolled past on the edge of the box, felt a hand on his shoulder, and hit the deck.
Dawson was given a penalty and, after VAR's intervention, a red card, and there was little sympathy from David Moyes, who thought his defender could have nipped ahead of Lukaku to win the ball before he turned.
'I thought he could have gotten there with his left foot and toe-poked it away,' said Moyes, his boss.
Lukasz Fabianski possessed little trouble saving Jorginho's feeble effort from the spot but this wasn't the end of the matter.
MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS
Chelsea 343: Mendy 6.5; Chalobah 6.5, Silva 7.5, Azpilicueta 6; Loftus-Cheek 6 (Ziyech 76, 6.5), Kante 7, Jorginho 5.5, Alonso 6; Mount 6.5, Havertz 6 (Pulisic 76, 7), Werner 6 (Lukaku 76, 6.5).
Pulisic's goal came just moments after Jorginho had his their penalty saved by West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski
Jorginho rolled the ball straight down the middle of the goal - making it an easy save for the stopper (pictured above)
Chelsea pressed on, and when Marcos Alonso whipped in another low cross from the left in the 90th minute, another sub, Christian Pulisic, pounced and swept the ball into the net from roughly the point where Dawson was no longer on guard.
The thrill of a late victory brought relief to Thomas Tuchel, whose team ended an unlikely streak of three home defeats to consolidate third place.
West Ham left Stamford Bridge and retraced their steps across London with nothing, despite the fact that the Premier League is no longer their top priority. With Thursday's Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt in mind, Moyes chose to start with several key players on the bench.
Declan Rice came on for half an hour, Jarrod Bowen played for 20 minutes, and Michail Antonio did not appear at all. He also didn't appear to be expecting it. In a baseball cap, he jogged down the sideline for a stretch.
Tuchel's plans were thwarted during the warm-up when Andreas Christensen withdrew due to stomach cramps. Christensen was substituted at halftime during Wednesday's loss to Arsenal.
Chelsea were awarded a penalty kick after Craig Dawson (right) brought down striker Romelu Lukaku (middle) inside the box.
Before sending West Ham captain Dawson to the stands, referee Michael Oliver checked the pitch-side monitor.
Trevoh Chalobah was drafted into the back three, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek filling in at wing-back because Reece James was unavailable due to discomfort in a hamstring, according to Tuchel. And there was no Antonio Rudiger, who was still out with a groin injury after announcing his intention to leave Chelsea at the end of the season.
Both teams moved at a snail's pace in the first half, with little fluency or imagination on display and no shots on goal at either end. Andriy Yarmolenko came the closest, firing just wide.
Chelsea were unable to test West Ham's makeshift back-three, which included full-backs Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell on either side of Dawson due to the absence of centre-halves Angelo Ogbonna, Kurt Zouma, and Issa Diop.
'It's very difficult to play spectacular open football against West Ham,' Tuchel said, but the second half produced more urgency and incident. Chelsea took off running and used the pressure but Dawson blocked one effort from Timo Werner and deflected another by N'Golo Kante, sending it swerving in the direction of the goal
When he pulled Lukaku down, Dawson denied a goal-scoring opportunity, so Oliver sent him off.
Fabianksi was able to make the necessary adjustments and save the game. It was the first of the game, nearly an hour into it. He made another save, this time from Chalobah, who advanced and fired from a distance.
Moyes was the first to make a substitution, bringing on Rice to replace Mark Noble with just over an hour remaining. West Ham made the best start of the game right away. Yarmolenko was released on the right by Pablo Fornals, but Edouard Mendy narrowed the angle and smothered his shot.
Chelsea became more dangerous as the game progressed. Dawson made another crucial block to keep Mason Mount from scoring, and Werner slammed the rebound into the side netting. Fabianski came over to save Alonso from Werner.
Tuchel's team was already well ahead when he made his triple substitution. Hakim Ziyech, Lukaku, and Pulisic came on, and they helped Chelsea cross the finish line. Lukaku, whose recent form has been dismal, won the penalty and drew the dismissal of West Ham's best defender. Pulisic scored the game-winning goal.
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