Chelsea moved into the Premier League's top four after coming from behind to beat West Ham United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
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Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s 74th-minute own goal proved decisive, as he inadvertently turned Cole Palmer's cross over Alphonse Areola with an attempted clearance.
Graham Potter’s return to Stamford Bridge had started well, Jarrod Bowen profiting from Levi Colwill’s slack pass to give them the lead three minutes before the break.
However, Chelsea substitute Pedro Neto levelled the score in the 64th minute before Palmer forced the winner 10 minutes later.
Chelsea move up to fourth on 43 points after recording back-to-back home wins, while West Ham remain 15th on 27.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
23 | +35 | 56 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
24 | +27 | 50 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
24 | +13 | 47 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
24 | +16 | 43 |
| 5 |
Man City
MCI
|
24 | +13 | 41 |
| 6 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
24 | +13 | 41 |
How the match unfolded
Enzo Maresca's Chelsea dominated the early stages with little reward. Noni Madueke whipped a shot wide after a blistering counter-attack before teeing up Enzo Fernandez shortly after, though he drilled his effort wide of the far post.
Bowen was then gifted the chance for the opener in the 42nd minute. He pounced on Colwill’s blind backpass on the edge of the box before curling his low shot into the bottom-left corner.
Palmer almost restored parity in first-half stoppage time, lifting a free-kick from just outside the box towards the top-right corner, only for Areola to brilliantly tip the ball over the bar.
Neto’s introduction sparked Chelsea to life, though. Marc Cucurella kept in the substitute's whipped cross, teeing up Fernandez’s blocked shot. Neto then pounced on the rebound to slot it through Areola’s legs, with the goal awarded on-pitch and confirmed by a VAR review for an offside against the Spaniard.
West Ham's Mohammed Kudus headed against the far post shortly after and it was a costly miss, as Palmer’s clever footwork saw him open up space on the left of the penalty area, with Wan-Bissaka unlucky to get the telling touch to lift it over his goalkeeper.
Chelsea's winner v West Ham
The winner! 😍#CFC | #CHEWHU pic.twitter.com/ds44V6cMH4
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 4, 2025
Blues back to winning ways
Maresca said it was no coincidence that Chelsea’s form had dipped during the transfer window due to uncertainty, and with its imminent closure, the Blues appeared to get back on track.
The Italian made a big call in his line-up, choosing to drop goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after recent errors and go with Filip Jorgensen. But Maresca was again left to rue individual mistakes in the first half, even if Chelsea responded well to going behind.
A slow start to the second half prompted Maresca into more changes, introducing Neto, Marc Guiu and Christopher Nkunku, with the Portuguese injecting some much-needed pace on the wing – his whipped delivery caused chaos in the West Ham box before he scored.
Those substitutions also appeared to free up Palmer in a more fluid style. The England international had half chances before his free-kick, but his influence grew after the break. He almost made sure of the points late on too, bending a shot just wide of the near post.
While Maresca still has issues to address, Chelsea have won two of their last three league matches ahead of their FA Cup and Premier League double-header away to Brighton & Hove Albion.
An unhappy return
Stamford Bridge has not been a happy hunting ground for former Chelsea managers in the past, and Potter was the latest to endure a frustrating return to west London.
West Ham had been boosted by the arrival of Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton earlier on Monday, and there was more good news for Hammers fans as Bowen was named in the starting line-up after recovering from a foot injury.
They had to bide their time in the first half as Chelsea kept the ball in the opening stages but eventually, chances came - Bowen and Kudus were both denied by Jorgensen while Andy Irving volleyed just over the bar.
Bowen could not have asked for an easier chance to mark his return with a goal either as he neatly profited off Colwill’s pass, much to the defender’s chagrin.
However, with a lead to protect after the break, they sat deeper as Chelsea’s substitutes started to dictate the match, and they were duly punished by Neto for not clearing their lines.
After striking the post, Kudus almost grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser, but was thwarted by Tosin Adarabioyo’s last-ditch challenge, leaving West Ham with work to do before they host Brentford on 15 February.
Club reports
Chelsea report | West Ham report
What the managers said
Enzo Maresca: "It is huge [result]. It was a tough game especially mentally. It is never easy when teams come here and wait and sit back. You need to be patient. There is no space, you need to move the ball and wait for the right moment.
"In the second half we came back and overall we deserved to win the game. They were waiting for our mistakes and you can't get frustrated. We are there [top four] and hopefully we can be there until the end. Playing this kind of game in February, where we are still there is an important statement."
Graham Potter: "I thought the performance was really good, lots of good things. I thought we were intelligent tactically. We felt a little bit unlucky with the first goal, we thought there might have been a foul leading up to it. Sometimes you need those things to go your way but it wasn't meant to be. We could have nicked a point with Mo [Kudus] and I think we would have deserved that.
"Jarrod Bowen was fantastic, he led the team and it was a proper captain's performance. You see the players that we've got and the spirit there. We can be positive for the future."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Chelsea have won a Premier League match at Stamford Bridge in which they’ve trailed at half time for the first time since December 2013 against Southampton (3-1), with this the 18th game since (D2 L15).
West Ham have lost four of their last six Premier League games (W1 D1), as many as in their prior 13 matches in the competition (W5 D4), while they’ve only won one of their last eight London derbies in the top-flight (D2 L5).
Only Southampton (17) and Aston Villa (11) have made more errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season than Chelsea (10).
With Wan-Bissaka’s first Premier League own goal, West Ham have had more different scorers of own goals in the competition than any other side (42).
