Things didn’t quite go as they were supposed to at West Ham did they as Chelsea surrendered their 100% start to the season with a disappointing performance against an improving Hammers side.
Although Chelsea enjoyed the majority of the possession they struggled to create any serious chances with the attacking intent being nullified by a resilient West Ham side who were well organised and who got bodies behind the ball.
Key members of the Chelsea side didn’t quite come to the party with Hazard and Willian both not making the desired impact.
Jorginho, as has been the case all season, saw a lot of the ball but I can’t help thinking his purchase has seen Kante pushed into a position whereby he’s not as effective as he can be.
In fact, instead of bemoaning the fact we only drew today, we could have been discussing a defeat.
West Ham created better openings than us but poor finishing from Antonio and Yarmolenko, allied with a couple of fine saves from Kepa, ensured Chelsea kept a clean-sheet.
Perhaps an indication of it just wasn’t to be our day was when, as Chelsea tried to force the issue, saw a goal-bound effort from Morata, on as a substitute for Giroud, kept out of the net after it hit Fabianski flush in the face as the Hammers goalkeeper rushed out.
There had been the suggestion that, after five straight wins, Chelsea faced the toughest test of their season, so far, against West Ham. If that’s the case then, with two fixtures against Liverpool in the coming week, looming large on the horizon, we could be at that stage whereby the next two games could determine just what we can expect from the 2018 / 2019 season.