This Saturday was set to be another big game in the West Ham calendar, as the Hammers were due to take on London rivals Chelsea, in what was set to be another classic game between the two capital sides. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic had other ideas. Instead, we are going to take it back to eight years ago, when the East London side pulled off a memorable derby victory at the old Boleyn Ground.
Poor Form
Rafael Benitez’s faltering start to life at the helm of Chelsea took another knock as West Ham produced a stunning comeback from an early Juan Mata goal to secure a 3-1 win as Carlton Cole, Mohamed Diame and Modibo Maiga all found the net in the second half, securing The Hammers’ first win over Chelsea in eight years.
Benitez came into the game having failed to win both of his first two games in charge at Stamford Bridge, with the defeat to West Ham making him the first Blues manager since Gianluca Vialli to fail to win any of his first three matches. To make matters worse for the Spaniard, chants of “sacked in the morning” as well as “only one Di Matteo” echoed through the ground, as the pressure continues to ramp up.
In the opposite dugout, Sam Allardyce’s side came into the tie having also failed to win in their last two, with the East London side looking to get back up the table, having fallen two places to tenth prior to today’s game.
Straight Out The Blocks
Chelsea started the game well, as they looked to close down the seven point gap between the European Champions and top placed Manchester United. It didn’t take long for the visitors to get the edge, after Mata latched onto Fernando Torres’ cutback, slotting the ball into Jussi Jääskeläinen’s left corner in the 13th minute, ending the Blues’ five hour, 34 minute goal drought.
Chelsea continued to dominate the Hammers throughout the first half, with Benitez’s side unable to pull ahead before the break, as the Blues wasted a handful of chances to take a stronger lead with Victor Moses, Torres and Mata all snatching at their chances. Kevin Nolan nearly drew the Irons level just before the break, as Cech was reprimanded for handling the ball outside his box with the resulting free kick floating to Nolan, whose headed effort was tipped over by the Chelsea number one.
Level Terms
West Ham came out strong in the second half, with the introduction of Diame giving the Hammers an extra edge as they looked to claw their way back. After 63 minutes, a deflected Matt Jarvis cross looped into the path of Carlton Cole, who punished his former team, bringing the game to 1-1.
The home side continued to press on throughout the second half, as Chelsea showed little resemblance to their first half performance, as the home side pressed down every opportunity Chelsea created. Mata came close with a speculative 25 yard free kick, which clattered against Jääskeläinen’s post.
Three Points Secured
As the game entered its final stages, West Ham finally found the breakthrough, as Cole picked out Diame on the edge of the box and the substitute made no mistake to give his side a deserved lead.
Chelsea scrambled to find an equaliser late into added time, a rare mistake from Ashley Cole gifted the ball to Matthew Taylor, who linked up well with substitute, Maïga, the latter finishing off the move to secure the three points for the Hammers.
The result left Benitez’s Chelsea winless, whilst still sitting third in the league but falling 10 points behind the league leaders. For West Ham, Allardyce had guided his side back up to eighth, just four points behind the visitors, giving The Hammers’ hopes of European football an early boost whilst ending a chain of losses, in what was a memorable comeback that will live long in the memories of fans of the claret and blues.
