Chelsea come from behind to win controversial derby
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admitted his side found the going tough against West Ham at Stamford Bridge, where Kai Havertz scored a late winner.
Substitutes Ben Chilwell and Havertz netted after an ultra-defensive West Ham took a shock lead.
Although Chelsea – who gave a debut to £70m signing Wesley Fofana – had the majority of possession and pressing, they failed to create any major chances in the first half.
“I see this all the time when I analyse West Ham – they make you under-perform,” Tuchel said.
“They make the game slow. They make it so, so difficult for you to accelerate the game and find open spaces.
“They defend with bodies, defend with discipline and defend with physicality. It’s very, very hard to create chances.
“It’s almost impossible to come back when they are ahead, so the task became more and more difficult for us.
“We didn’t play with the biggest belief and biggest self-confidence. I just told them to try to keep believing.
“It’s really hard to play an attractive game against West Ham because they do what they do at the highest level.”
Chelsea were stunned when David Moyes’ side broke the deadlock to ignite an otherwise uneventful affair after 63 minutes.
Pablo Fornals flighted in a corner, and with Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy and his defence failing to clear, Michail Antonio forced the ball home on the goal line from Declan Rice’s assist at the far post.
Eventually, in the 76th minute, Chilwell levelled for Tuchel’s men – the left-back reached a loose ball at an acute angle before the advancing West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski, and subsequently trickled the ball into the net.
Chelsea also survived a brief scare when Hammers’ unmarked substitute Maxwel Cornet headed the ball against the post.
And with just two minutes remaining, Havertz intervened to volley home superbly from six yards via a Chilwell cross.
And, amid drama in the last minute, Cornet had a goal ruled out by VAR for a foul on Mendy.
Chelsea: Mendy, James, Koulibaly, Fofana, Silva, Cucarella (Chilwell,70), Gallagher (Broja 60) , Kovacic (Havertz 70), Loftus-Cheek (Jorginho 82), Sterling, Pulisic (Mount 60)
