LONDON —
Chelsea crashed to a shock 3-2 defeat at
West Ham as
Arthur Masuaku's fortuitous late winner capped the Premier League
leaders' second half collapse in a dramatic London derby on Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
Thomas Tuchel's side went ahead through Thiago Silva but
Manuel Lanzini's penalty drew West Ham level.
Mason Mount restored Chelsea's advantage just before
half-time, only for
Jarrod Bowen to blast West Ham's second equalizer soon
after the interval.
Chelsea dominated for long periods but made too many
mistakes at both ends and paid the price with three minutes left as Masuaku's
miscued cross somehow found its way past Edouard Mendy.
It was the Blues' first defeat in their last 13 games in all
competitions and their spell at the top of the Premier League might be over by
Saturday evening.
They are just one point ahead of second placed Manchester
City, who visit Watford later on Saturday, with third placed Liverpool also
able to go above Chelsea if they win at Wolves.
Fourth placed West Ham once again showed their ability to
make life uncomfortable for the big guns.
The Hammers had already ended Liverpool's long unbeaten run
this season, as well as knocking
Manchester City and
Manchester United out of
the League Cup.
Now Chelsea have joined the list of star-studded teams
driven to distraction by Moyes' well-drilled side.
After admitting Chelsea rode their luck to beat Watford in
midweek, Tuchel will be concerned at another unusually disjointed display from
the European champions.
Reece James has been in superb form of late and Chelsea's
right wing-back tested Lukasz Fabianski with a 20-yard drive before providing
the cross that
Kai Havertz headed straight at the Hammers keeper.
Chelsea collapse
Chelsea's early dominance was rewarded in the 29th minute
when Silva met
Mason Mount's corner with a downwards header that Fabianski
could only push into the net via the far post.
But their concentration wavered and West Ham were gifted an equalizer
five minutes before half-time.
Jorginho played a suicidal back pass that Mendy scrambled to
reach before Bowen.
As the Senegal keeper tried to dribble around Bowen, he lost
control of the ball and sent the West Ham forward crashing to the turf with a
panicked tackle.
It was a comedy of errors and Lanzini delivered the
punchline as he drove the penalty into the roof of the net.
Jorginho's howler came just a week after his woeful control
allowed Jadon Sancho to score in the draw with Manchester United.
Chelsea's response was instant as a sweeping move put them
back in front four minutes later.
Hakim Ziyech's majestic long pass picked out Mount, who ran
in behind Ben Johnson to caress a sublime volley past Fabianski from just
inside the area.
An injury to Havertz on the stroke of half-time meant
Romelu Lukaku was introduced after the interval, but the Belgian was anonymous as he
makes a slow recovery from an ankle injury.
Heading into the weekend, Chelsea had conceded just six
league goals this season — the lowest amount of any team in the top five
European leagues.
But, missing the injured N'Golo Kante as the midfield shield
in front of them, there was a lack of cohesion at the back for the Blues and
Moyes' men took advantage to snatch a 56th minute equalizer.
Vladimir Coufal was able to poke a pass to Bowen on the edge
of the area as Chelsea fatally backed off and the forward drilled a superb low
strike through Andreas Christensen's legs and into the far corner.
It was the first time Chelsea had conceded more than one
goal in a Premier League game since May and there was worse to come in the 87th
minute.
When Masuaku took possession and shaped to cross, there
seemed little danger for Chelsea, but the defender's delivery suddenly swerved
in mid-air, deceiving Mendy as it arched past the stunned keeper.
Read more Sports
.jpg)
.jpg)
