There are times when trying to make sense of Chelsea is a futile task. Lurching between extremes is their speciality. They were shambolic against struggling West Ham for 45 minutes, had Stamford Bridge ready to turn on Liam Rosenior at half-time and still found a way to mount a comeback so wild it left their opponents in a state of utter, uncontrollable rage at the end of an incomprehensible London derby.
Where to begin? With the end, perhaps, and Enzo Fernández running on to a cutback from João Pedro to make it 3-2 to Chelsea in the 92nd minute. It was some turnaround. João Pedro had made the difference after coming on at the start of the second half. The forward scored Chelsea’s first, heading home just before the hour, and was cool when he broke into the West Ham area when the game ran into added time. João Pedro had options. He could have shot and he could have crossed. Instead he threw West Ham by pulling the ball back to Fernández, who is beginning to resemble Frank Lampard with his knack of deciding games with late unnoticed runs from midfield.
West Ham, who remain five points below Nottingham Forest in 18th place, were broken. They dominated the first half, goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville lifting them into a commanding position. The revival led by Nuno Espírito Santo looked set to continue. West Ham were strong, muscular and dangerous. They defended and attacked as a unit. They rattled Chelsea. It would not be enough. The red mist descended. A mass brawl ended with West Ham fortunate that Jean-Clair Todibo was the only player to be sent off. The defender will miss three games for throttling João Pedro but could have been followed down the tunnel by Konstantinos Mavropanos and Adama Traoré.
Nuno could not hide his disappointment. He criticised his side’s defending during the second half, although he has to take his share of the blame. Nuno was bold at first but too quick to retreat when the tide turned. Not for the first time, he relinquished the initiative with his changes. The most inexplicable was taking off Pablo and replacing the striker with Max Kilman. Chelsea were level three minutes later. Liam Delap headed against the bar and Marc Cucurella, one of three half-time changes from Rosenior, stooped to head in the equaliser.
Is Rosenior a lucky manager or a tactical genius? Chelsea’s head coach has six wins from seven games since replacing Enzo Maresca but few have been convincing. The recoveries are becoming a theme. Rosenior responded after making a mess of his initial approach, just as he had when he bungled his starting lineup during Chelsea’s victory over Napoli in the Champions League last Wednesday.
Chelsea’s mentality against inferior opposition was under the spotlight. Rosenior wanted to see if they could back up the win in Naples. He said this game would tell him a lot about his players. He did not discover anything good about them at first.
West Ham rattled Chelsea with an intense, coordinated press. Taty Castellanos and Pablo were dangerous front two. Pablo was involved in the opening goal. His presence deceived Robert Sánchez, who let Bowen’s cross from the right drift inside the far post after seven minutes.
Quick GuideChelsea 3-2 West Ham key facts
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• Chelsea won a Premier League match having been two goals behind at half time for the first time ever in the competition, while West Ham lost an away match that they were two goals ahead at the break for the second time (lost 3-2 against Wigan in May 2011).
• Liam Rosenior (pictured) became the fourth English manager to win his first three Premier League games in charge, after Bobby Gould in August 1992, Sam Allardyce in August 2001 and Craig Shakespeare (first 5) in April 2017.
Chelsea, who made seven changes before the second leg of their League Cup semi-final against Arsenal, were miles off the pace. The passing was abysmal and their left flank was a mess. Bowen tormented Jorrel Hato before Cucurella replaced the left-back. It was 2-0 when Alejandro Garnacho failed to track Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The right-back ran on to a pass from Bowen and set Summerville up for his fourth goal in as many games.
The mood darkened. Trevoh Chalobah was arguing with a home fan when the teams walked off at half-time. Rosenior acted. Benoît Badiashile, Garnacho and Hato were taken off. João Pedro, Cucurella and Wesley Fofana brought on. West Ham kept attacking, though; Bowen and Mateus Fernandes were close to making it 3-0.
Chelsea’s substitutions began to make an impact. Nuno was enraged by his side allowing Fofana to advance and cross for João Pedro to head past Alphonse Areola. West Ham faded. Areola made a stunning stop from Moisés Caicedo. Nuno wanted to protect the lead. The introduction of Kilman made no difference. Pedro Neto, another substitute, crossed. Malo Gusto won the first header and Cucurella scored after the otherwise disappointing Delap hit the woodwork.
West Ham are without a clean sheet since August. That will have to change if they are to stay up. This was agonising. They hit the post through Todibo in the 86th minute. It seemed they would have to settle for a point. Fernández had other ideas.
