Chelsea strike it lucky to jump back into top four

Chelsea have shelled 10 points from winning positions since Christmas, a problem so acute that the players sat down and shared some hard truths at the training ground this week.

- LAWRENCE OSTLERE

“When we go behind or concede, we need to stick together and be more of a team,” Cole Palmer said before kick-off here, and Chelsea did just that, conceding a farcical opener before hitting back with two goals in 10 second-half minutes to sink West Ham. Perhaps chasing is easier than being chased.

Chelsea’s goals were scrappy, with substitute Pedro Neto pouncing on a rebound in the 64th minute, before Aaron WanBissaka diverted Cole Palmer’s cross into his own net. But after only one win in their last seven league games, this was a night for substance, not style. Graham Potter’s renewed West Ham were well drilled and perhaps deserved something from his return to Stamford Bridge. Instead, three points propelled Chelsea back above Bournemouth, Newcastle and Manchester City into fourth.

West Ham had reason to grumble about the equaliser, given how Jarrod Bowen was deliberately barged off the ball at the very start of the move, and how VAR couldn’t conclusively say whether the ball had touched Marc Guiu’s fringe on its way into the box, which would have seen the goal ruled out for offside had it been proven. The deflected winner was lucky too, but by then Chelsea had cranked up the pressure and their strength off the bench made a difference.

“We feel a little bit unlucky, we feel it was a foul on Jarrod,” Potter said. “But that’s football sometimes. They had to make a lot of substitutions which shows our performance was good.”